Reflection
by Snarfburgalar
Summary: Visions of a mysterious figure nearly drive Kagome to insanity; but the real mystery lies in the fact that Sesshomaru is the only one who can explain the origin of her dreams.
1. Default Chapter

Hello everyone! I am the Snarfburgalar and this is my first ever fanfic! Point being: be gentle. You don't know how many times I've cast this thing to the dogs and started all over again. I expect lovely reviews and I'll try to update as often as possible. Enjoy.  
  
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Reflection  
  
Chapter 1-Tortured  
  
Kagome flopped over onto her side and admired the sunset with half-closed eyes. The long grass swayed comfortably about her in the light summer breeze. Yawning dramatically, she tossed a tired glance at an uncharacteristically thoughtful Inu-Yasha before restoring her gaze to the scorched sky.  
  
It had been a day like any other in the feudal era. Chasing demons and being chased, adding another shikon shard to their collection, having a spat over the majority of said jewel being in Kikyo's, or even Naraku's hands and it being or not being Kagome's fault. Same old same old.   
  
As if finally yielding to what had become a daily routine, Kagome and her reluctant companion of the past few months now took a moment to let themselves be caught in the ever flowing current of their life. In this instant, they could dryly accept and respect the fact that tomorrow would probably present much of the same, that there would be another fight, that there would be another shikon shard, and that each of them would be there to be a part of it once more, together.  
  
Kagome was sprawled out like a murder victim herself, trying to savor some bliss of the laid back situation, but instead discovering that she just didn't care anymore. In spite of it all, she smiled at it too, and shut her eyes lazily, still smiling like an idiot as she welcomed the light of the sun as it bathed her warmly.  
  
Inu-Yasha, meanwhile, was lost in his own thoughts for the moment. Noting his silence, rather than his typical sulky attitude about being an escort for safety when she ever felt like lying around in a meadow or something, as she desired frequently, Kagome could only assume he was thinking of Kikyo again; of the love they once shared. She felt no tinge of jealousy this time, however, and happily left him to wander about his empty little head as much as he wanted.  
  
  
  
Inu-Yasha was actually thinking of no such thing, however. Joining the spell of lack of interest that had stolen them both away, noodles were actually on his mind at present. He sat there, per usual with his hands stuffed into his sleeves and his feet set square to each other. Just the same old Inu-Yasha.  
  
  
  
Kagome's eyes remained closed. Perhaps she had fallen asleep, or maybe she was just resting, but no one cared which right now, including herself.  
  
The sun took its time crawling down beneath the horizon, as if it had joined the fun and decided to be just as lazy as everyone else.  
  
"Inu-Yasha," the girl muttered his name in a half whisper, and so the half-demon ignored it as her typical sleep mumbling.   
  
"Inu-Yasha." It was louder this time, with more definition. But he continued to dismiss it ignorantly.  
  
"Osuwari." A few birds fluttered from their perches in fear at the mighty tremor that shook the earth, accompanied by a loud slam and a few choice words muttered by Inu-Yasha amidst a mouthful of dirt.  
  
"Dammit Kagome!" He sputtered as he pried himself from the ground. Wrenching fistfuls of grass and twigs from his mane, he focused on the half-conscious girl with boiling rage. "How often and how much do you dream of torturing me you stupid girl?!" Kagome rubbed her eyes sleepily and glared at him as he continued to rant. "Because as I recall," prickling with frustration, "This has happened before!"  
  
Kagome sat up and stared him down, nearly licking her lips as the opportunity to "sit" him presented itself again. Anger contained for the most part, she shoved her nose in the air and prepared her own speech. "Yes I do remember. You snuck into my house and smashed my alarm clock. What a pleasant visit that was." Inu-Yasha then made an aghast face of one so wrongly accused of a crime it was mind boggling for that said person.  
  
"Not another word doggy or you and your old friend the ground will be reunited again," she spat venomously. "And I wasn't sleeping either. I was just trying to talk to you and you so rudely ignored me. It was an act on your part that was just begging for a 'you-know-what'." Kagome folded her arms in superiority and sniffed a bit.  
  
  
  
Inu-Yasha continued to stare at her in horror. Eventually, she succumbed to curiosity. "What?!" she shouted in frustration.  
  
"That's it?" Inu-Yasha spluttered.  
  
  
  
Kagome blushed as if embarrassed. Had she missed something? "Well, um, yeah." She stared at her lap like the bashful little school girl that she was.  
  
"Those aren't good reasons at all! Of course I ignored you!" And a totally unfitting comment from Inu-Yasha is once again thrown out onto the field.  
  
"OSUWARI!!!"  
  
"#%$@!!!"  
  
A positively fuming Kagome stomped off towards the village, leaving a cross-eyed Inu-Yasha lying in the dirt shouting obscenities. Before making her grand departure, however, the girl spun around to face the half-demon with another bout of yelling. "AND JUST IN CASE YOU"RE WONDERING, I WAS JUST GOING TO COMMENT ON HOW WEIRDLY CALM EVERYTHING WAS!!! BUT IT'S NOT LIKE YOU TO CARE ABOUT WHAT I HAVE TO SAY, IS IT?!"  
  
"LIKE HELL BITCH!!!" Inu-Yasha screamed vainly at her, "YOU HIT THE NAIL RIGHT ON THE HEAD!!!"  
  
"JERK!" Came an echoing response from beyond a hill.  
  
"WENCH!!!" With that, Inu-Yasha dropped his head in exhaustion panting more curses at Kagome as he struggled to catch his breath.  
  
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"And then you know what he did?" Kagome sipped her stew with thin lips, pausing every now and then to spill her agonies to Sango. She found little comfort in Keade's cozy little hut this night, and thus far, not much in Sango either.  
  
  
  
"What did he do Kagome?" She asked dryly as she tucked her bowl under Kirara's nose, watching with delight as the small cat lapped at its contents happily.  
  
Kagome joined her gaze for a moment before staring at Sango again. "Well, he, that jerk, had the nerve to call me a wench!" She slammed her dish down and waited for a response. Receiving none she turned to see Sango cuddling Kirara and showing no sign of interest in any way. "Sango?" Kagome waved her hand inches from her friend's face. "Sango-chan? Are you listening to me?"  
  
Sango sat up suddenly, "Oh, what? Yes Kagome that, um, is awful." She flashed a fake grin at Kagome and eventually looked back down at Kirara at the sight of Kagome with half-closed eyes glaring at her.   
  
"This is what I'm talking about!" she said throwing her hands up in the air. "Everyone's ignoring me! Plus things are actually calm around here! What's the deal, do I have something in my teeth? Did I say something? Did I forget to put on deodorant? What? What? What?"  
  
"Well Kagome-chan," Sango mumbled as she scratched Kirara's belly playfully, "Maybe you should just appreciate it. I mean, things will be back to normal tomorrow, won't they?"  
  
"Yes but-" Kagome was cut off by Sango as she took Kagome's hand surprisingly and placed it on the soft bundle of fuzz Sango had just been so occupied with.  
  
"I know it feels strange, but enjoy this peace while it lasts. Here, scratch, it'll relax you." Kagome's fingers began to move leisurely through Kirara's warm fur, seemingly of their own will.  
  
'Sango's right,' She thought as she lifted the cat into her arms. 'But, I just, I can't explain it to her, but I feel like time has stopped for everyone but me. Something's going to happen, I know it. There's something important about what's going on, it can't be so average.'  
  
"There now Kagome-chan, do you feel better?" Kagome dangled her fingers over Kirara's swatting paws and smiled in spite of herself. She did feel better. Surely what she felt wasn't anything too important that it couldn't be ignored for now.  
  
"Yes I do Sango-chan." Releasing a heavy sigh, she placed Kirara on her feet and stood up. Brushing dust from her uniform, she turned and made for the door. "I'm just going to go take a walk and clear my head. I'll be back soon."  
  
"Oh, alright." Sango muttered as she scooped up the cat once more. She was a bit surprised at her friend's sudden urge to get away, suspecting that she wasn't as happy as she would like her to be. "Hurry back then Kagome-chan." Kagome nodded and brushed past the door gracefully, disappearing into the night.  
  
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Kagome tread the path softly, her surroundings illuminated only by moonlight. Overhead, the moon itself was full, and bright, glistening in its radiant beauty. She intended to stay near the village, but she had no clear idea besides that of where she was going. The trees rolled by before her, massive guards to the little village.  
  
Her eyes remained fixed on the ground before her, though, never bothering to look up or study the path. She didn't even notice as she wandered towards a grave site. That is, until she noticed the small shrine she just about ran into.  
  
  
  
"What? A grave?" She mumbled. It was a solitary, formal place, designed for a high and holy member of society. But for the most part, it looked like a decent little burial site, perhaps one rebuilt after its predecessor had been destroyed in a war or a storm. For there were signs of destruction, a bit of upturned soil, some shattered wood. Kagome focused on it in the darkness, sensing some familiarity. Who's could this be?" She wondered. Finding nothing that would present her with useful information, she reached out to touch it. 'Please forgive me for disturbing this grave, curiosity killed the cat.' She prayed quickly.  
  
Gently, her finger met with the cold stone, and she gasped suddenly. "I know whose this is!" Kagome exclaimed. Her hand shook, "This, this is Kikyo's grave!" Flickering memories of the day that part of her soul had been taken from her, the day that Urasue had raised Kikyo from the dead, the day that she had stood helpless as Inu-Yasha had been embraced so tenderly by the shattered priestess before her very eyes.  
  
  
  
"Oh..." she moaned as she put a hand to her forehead. Kagome felt the beginnings of a headache threatening her, and she struggled to rise, suddenly feeling cornered in this desolate place.   
  
She hadn't known that the villagers had restored Kikyo's resting place. She hadn't thought that they would bother now that their treasured priestess walked again.  
  
She stumbled, and slowly teetered away, heading off into the forest. Tears tickled the corners of her eyes and soon began to spill down her cheeks as she broke into a run.  
  
Sobbing and crashing through the trees, Kagome bore no knowledge of where she was going, nor did she care. She barely noticed as her foot caught on a branch suddenly, causing her to tumble to the ground in a tattered, broken mess.  
  
There, she curled into a ball, hugging a nearby tree for support. Wrapped in self hatred, faced with the terrible knowledge of her purpose in life, she found herself alone then, totally, and utterly alone. "Inu-Yasha," she whimpered.  
  
  
  
Why wasn't he here for her now? Why wasn't he here to snap at her, bring her up, even if he provoked her with that sour attitude of his? Even considering it brought forth another wave of negativity. "Stupid girl," she chastised. "Of course he isn't here. He really doesn't care about you. You're just a reflection."   
  
Kagome wanted to hit herself, abuse herself, end it all finally. For how could she live this way? Even as Kikyo's reincarnation, Kikyo had become a terrible tortured soul now. Want spared her from the same fate? Kikyo was stronger, more powerful, and it was her who deserved the second chance to live.  
  
"I should kill myself now." Kagome realized, "I shouldn't be here at all. No one wants me, no one searches for me. No one cares." She stared at her hands in desperation. "I'm not Kikyo, I'm not even Kagome, I'm just a lost little girl in the back round."  
  
  
  
She clawed at the ground, fists balled up in the leaves of the forest floor. "Someone please!" She shouted, "someone explain to me why I'm here at all! I don't understand...Please..." Her voice fading to a whisper, she relinquished all of the strength she had left, suddenly aware of how much she had exhausted herself in her dash, and her intense weeping.  
  
  
  
Hugging herself for warmth, Kagome leaned against the tree and stared up at the moon longingly. "Please..." The forest was still, and Kagome herself remained as a statue, a monument devoted to a girl who was fed up with it all.   
  
Stars flickered into the sky, time crawled past slowly. She couldn't be sure how long she had drowned in the beauty of that lovely image. The moon, in all its perfection, it captured her in its spell, and she was compelled simply to gaze at it. It was as if Kagome was cut off from the world, only she existed then. For the longest time she could believe that, and contentedly sat in a bed of leaves, ready to except it if this was the path that fate had chosen for her. She felt then that if she had been chosen to stay in that place forever, with the moon hanging majestically above her, well, that would be just fine.  
  
Her surroundings slowly faded away, into the darkness, and the heavens closed quietly before her, yet the moon remained. After a time, Kagome stifled up the courage to speak, though she felt as one who had been drugged. "Where am I?" she said mindlessly in a daze. "Am I dreaming, or have I finally made it to where I belong?" She was smiling, with eyes that stared but did not see. Her limbs opened and she sat loosely, "I don't care, this feels great..." She muttered.   
  
A voice drifted to her, as if calling from afar, it was beautiful, familiar, "Be still child," it said comfortingly, "Be still, watch, and listen. Your questions shall be answered."  
  
  
  
It fluttered away like a breeze, and Kagome smiled even wider. 'I am dreaming,' she thought. She restored her gaze to the moon, and watched as it began to crumble like so many grains of sand. "Oh no," she whispered, "Don't go..."   
  
The sight was replaced then by a terrible, cruel scene, that inspired the like in Kagome, as she resisted the urge to put a hand to her mouth in terror, trying to keep in mind the words that had been spoken to her with such sincerity just moments ago.  
  
  
  
A man clung to a young woman in his arms desperately, his long hair falling in disarray across his shoulders like a solemn drape. A once lush forest was littered with fallen trees, burnt black, hardly even reminiscent of their mighty former images. The scene was that of immense and horrific destruction, bleak, yielding little hope, a sight that would melt the strongest heart, and lay a blanket of tragic despair over the soul.  
  
  
  
In her beauty, the woman, who now lay dying, was very much akin to the shattered forest. Kagome stifled the desire to run to her, wrap her arms about her. The woman had been cut down, in all her splendor and perfection, and now it had come to this, she was defeated, ultimately.  
  
  
  
The figure who was hunched over her now, the man who held her, pleading against fate that she might find the strength to fight through the darkness.  
  
  
  
All things dimmed to a deaf quiet, and the woman reached up to a tear stained face, still shadowed by a mask of hair, touched it lightly, and mumbled a few inaudible words. Then, struck suddenly by a spasm of pain, her hand hesitated, and fell limp at her side.  
  
  
  
The figure went still, the tears stopped abruptly, and his shoulders went slack as he let the lifeless body slide from his powerless hands to the charred ground. Kagome screamed in fear and desperation, totally unconscious of the strange will that forced her to shout what she did, "No!!! I don't want to die! Beloved!" her hand reached out to the two before her.   
  
Kagome's immediate thought was that she had been possessed, but in no way did she feel as such. She had said that as her self. No one but she had caused her to do that. Her eyes widened in shock and confusion. "What on Earth?" She whispered.  
  
  
  
A light breeze swept through the image, and in a moment the vision faded into white, save only for gentle cherry blossoms drifting downward in the wind.  
  
  
  
In the very faintest sound, a song could be heard, as if in the distance, sweet, melodic, no words to strangle the perfect rhythm, and truly beautiful in its own simplicity; just as beautiful, as the voice that sang it, the same one that had spoken to Kagome, though the gentle tone seemed to be that of one who suffered greatly. It brought forth a pang of familiarity and remembrance, and it steadily began to grow louder, but just as its origin could be deciphered, a sudden jolt hurled everything out of grasp...  
  
It was a noise, persistent and troubled, a voice, distressed. Someone was calling her name... "KAGOME!"  
  
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She awoke with a start, and found herself staring into Inu-Yasha's eyes, filled with concern and desperation. "Oh Inu-Yasha..." Kagome said softly, thankful to be able to see someone she knew, finally. He was clutching her shoulders, as if in fear, fear for her safety. She wanted to fall into his embrace, cry to him about everything that had happened and how stupid she had been, to which, he would probably agree, as was typical of him.  
  
But before she could mumble a word, Inu-Yasha was beating questions into her still hazy mind. "Where is he Kagome? Is he here? Did he hurt you? "  
  
Surprised, Kagome could only gawk at him. "What? Who are you talking about Inu-Yasha?"   
  
"Sesshomaru, stupid!" In a brief moment, Kagome could see the figure hunched over the woman again, hear her own echoing call, beloved! She shook it out of her mind and tried to focus. Her vision settled again on Inu-Yasha.   
  
"What about him?" The quavering tone of her voice could barely be contained. She wasn't quite certain if she wanted to hear Inu-Yasha's response.  
  
"You tell me! You're the one who's been shouting his name!"  
  
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I expect some lovely reviews all of you. Hope you liked it. More to come. Did you notice how desolate it was? I certainly did. Sheesh, for my sake and yours I'll be sure to add some humor. 


	2. Confused

Oh my, I'm certainly spoiled to have such lovely reviewers. You're all positively angels. I intend to respond to each and every one of your comments faithfully. Hey, even my friends were nice about it! That's certainly something I never expected from, *ahem* those people. Ah well, it is a crazy world. I'm also terribly sorry about the long wait. My computer has been asking for some baseball bat therapy, again. So was fanfiction.net, to my surprise. There were difficulties in downloading, but they have been attended to. And now, back by popular demand, I give you Reflection, Chapter 2. Have fun kids! And remember, drink milk and stay and school and you'll be a happy camper.  
  
Hey, nobody noticed. Neither did I till just seconds after I had put it out for that matter, but I forgot to put a disclaimer on my first chapter. Sorry... I'm such a failure. I'm a menace to society! That said, without further ado,  
  
Disclaimer: Inu-Yasha belongs entirely to Rumiko Takahashi, not to me.  
  
(At least, not yet...-_~)  
  
Reflection  
  
Chapter 2-Confused  
  
Keade studied the young girl carefully. Her long raven tresses were cast over her shoulders gracefully, her eyes were narrow and observant, like a cornered animal. She sat respectfully, dignified and straight upon her legs, features set aglow by the firelight in the small hut. On her lap her hands were balled up into tight fists clenched around her dark green uniform, grasping them like a lifeline.  
  
The silence was rigid and increased the tension of the awkward situation.  
  
"Go on," Keade announced solemnly; trying her best to gently persuade the shaken Kagome into continuing her tale.  
  
"When he told me that I had been screaming his name, that's, how he said he found me, I panicked. That name, 'Sesshomaru,' it was like some sort of trigger. I just about fainted, for no reason at all," Kagome stared at her hands painfully, as if ashamed. "Maybe I was just a little nervous about the dream or something, but, I suddenly felt so... I can't even describe it." She raised her eyes a bit to look at Keade. "I'm sorry Keade-obaachan."  
  
"Nay child," Keade started, placing a withered hand on Kagome's pale one. "Yee have nothing to apologize for."  
  
The delicate female nodded shortly and said no more. Once again a heavy quite pierced the setting. Eventually, Keade became compelled to brake it, and prodded Kagome with a light question. "And, certainly Inu-Yasha has been worried by this predicament?"  
  
To her surprise, the girl smiled slightly at the words. "I, actually told him it was just a nightmare, because I didn't feel like he needed to be involved. He said he wasn't surprised, and, he knew how I felt. He seemed a little bit nervous, especially that I was sleeping alone in a forest, at night, but I shooed him away."   
  
Keade forced a decent laugh to comfort the child, watching as she responded with a quiet chuckle herself. "Well," she rasped between snickers, "that sounds like Inu-Yasha! Always sulking when there's need and than worrying when there isn't!"  
  
"Worrying when there isn't? Wait a minute! I think this is serious!"  
  
Keade smiled at her sweetly, this time deciding to play the little old innocent grandma, "As hard as it is to believe child, Inu-Yasha has managed to get something right this time! It was only a passing nightmare, Yee have nothing to be concerned about."  
  
At first, the girl seemed not to be unconvinced. Her mouth hung open in surprise and she stared dismally at Keade. "But, I can remember every detail of it! That's not normal!"  
  
"That often happens with nightmares child. Humans usually respond to fear more than any other emotion. That is why nightmares seem so clear." Kagome stared at her blankly.  
  
"I, suppose that would make sense..." She mumbled hesitantly. "I was just so sure it was something different." Keade could feel her uncertainty and immediately made a move to reassure her.  
  
"It was not." She said a bit more firmly than was necessary. Her hand had moved to grip Kagome's shoulder tightly.  
  
A heartbeat fluttered by, and in that moment Kagome considered a falsehood, but her close friendship with the priestess willed her heart otherwise. "If you say so Keade-baachan." Keade's hand went limp in relief, and she settled back on her legs slowly.  
  
The girl smiled and cocked her head to the elderly woman sweetly. "Thank you very much, I knew when I had that silly nightmare that it'd be the right idea to explain it to you. You always know what to do." She moved towards the exit with a polite bow. "Good-bye now! I'll be with Sango if you need to find me or anything." Without another word, Kagome dashed out of the hut quickly and left the door fluttering in the night breeze, along with Keade, who had inner struggles working against one another as she had told the girl the lie.  
  
"It was for her own sake," she said hoarsely as soon as Kagome was out of earshot, trying to convince herself that what she had done was for the best.  
  
Silently, she recounted the nights events. Kagome had wandered into her hut looking confused and troubled. She had recounted her frightening walk through the forest, her discovery of Kikyo's newly rebuilt grave, her self doubt, and her dream.   
  
Her dream, it was obviously a vision. No doubt Inu-Yasha had probably found her with open eyes, and shaken her from a trance. It was a surprise that he went for the bait and let her be so easily, but then, they had been fighting. Visions were not to be taken lightly, and even more disturbing, that she had been screaming for Sesshomaru.   
  
At any rate, it was best to let the poor girl be. It would play itself out, and perhaps truly be a passing thing, but in the end, it would only rupture the situation if Kagome were to make a fuss over it. She already had enough to deal with, she didn't need to be aggravated over this.  
  
In the end, Keade had come to the conclusion that Kagome's spiritual abilities were only growing, and that she had experienced this as a warning, perhaps to an upcoming confrontation with Sesshomaru himself.   
  
Such a thing had happened to Keade as a child often. For even in her very earliest days she had suffered visions prior and after serious occasions. After Kikyo had died, she fell into multiple trances in which she had witnessed her sister's entire death, from start to finish, and had therefore known of possible betrayal long before it was confirmed by Inu-Yasha and Kagome. Perhaps then this would be good for Kagome, and such a talent might then be useful in the midst of future trauma.  
  
Even as Keade left the subject to consider other issues, an uncertainty still lingered in her heart, and as she walked silently to the hut she shared with Sango, in Kagome's as well. It spoke that things were otherwise, that this was of terrible importance, and that it had only yet begun.  
  
"Sango-chan!" Kagome exclaimed delightedly as she found her friend sitting pleasantly by the fire with Kirara as she had left her.  
  
Sango smiled happily at her friend's return and motioned for her to join her. "I'm glad you're back Kagome-chan," she said gently. "Though that was a long walk. You were gone for an hour, where did you go?"   
  
Kagome tucked her skirt beneath her as she knelt down beside the exterminator, "Oh, I just ducked in to say hi to Keade, no reason, just passing by."  
  
Sango noticed the delicate girl's jittery manner immediately. "Are you sure?" She met Kagome with an icy stare.  
  
"Y, yes." Her hair dropped down like a drape across her face, giving Kagome a type of comfort as it acted like a shield from Sango's accusation. Betraying her trust was terrible for Kagome to bear, but after spilling to Keade, the very thought of discussing the "nightmare" again brought forth a tremendous headache. Silently, she prayed that Sango wouldn't suspect the fraud.   
  
After a few frigid seconds, Kagome watched from behind her hair in relief as Sango shrugged in dismissal and turned away. A quiet sigh escaped her, and she relaxed momentarily as she eyed Shippou in the corner, curled up in her sleeping bag, already out of it and looking quite content.  
  
"Here," a steaming bowl was extended to her, filled with stew again. Sango was firmly holding it just beneath her nose.  
  
"Oh but Sango," Kagome began, "You know I just ate before I left, I'm really not hungry." She held up her hands in protest and tried to push the bowl away.  
  
"Kagome-chan, you don't look well, you're paler than usual, please eat something and get some rest."   
  
"Really Sango I'm fine, it's just the night air or something. But I will be retiring now if you don't mind," and she rose to walk towards the small kitsune and the large red bag. Sango followed her with troubled eyes. "I am tired."  
  
Carefully, Kagome pulled back the top and shuffled the kit out of the way as she climbed in. "Goodnight Sango-chan, and you please be off to bed soon too, we both haven't gotten much sleep lately, you know?"  
  
Sango set the bowl down and brushed it's contents into a pot settled onto the fire. "Alright Kagome-chan, goodnight to you too." The girl nodded shortly and settled into the plush covers while she cuddled Shippou to her.  
  
Outside, the full moon hung in the sky darkly, this time it seemed to stand as a warning rather than a symbol of wonder and beauty. That night, Kagome continued to dream.  
  
  
  
The dim light of early morning dawned on the small village. The sun had not yet risen, and the sky was a faded blue. A dense fog hung in the air, and drifted about hauntingly.  
  
Kagome curled tighter into the sleeping bag, and tried vainly to ignore the hanyou's screeching outside the hut. "Not now Inu-Yasha..." she mumbled as she pawed blindly about for her watch. "It must be six o'clock in the morning." Her hand landed on the small wristband, and she wearily dragged it into her line of vision. "Oh never mind, it's five thirty. What the hell do you expect us to be doing right now? It's too early."  
  
At that moment the said dog-demon came bursting into the small room. He stomped around a bit and swore at their laziness before making a move at Kagome's covers. "Get up Kagome, we have to leave now! And you too Sango!" He shouted as he began to wrench the red material off of her. Kagome only groaned a bit.  
  
"What's the rush Inu-Yasha?" came the tired voice of Sango, "We just got here, let us rest. She rolled into her sheets and hugged her pillow defensively.  
  
"You guys have had plenty of time to rest now get up!" With a massive tug he revealed Kagome, half-asleep and obviously miffed.  
  
"Osuwari." She muttered, and Inu-Yasha immediately hit the ground. "You almost tore my sleeping bag. Now let us sleep or I'll do it again." Kagome flopped back down into her blankets and turned away from the half-demon, knowing full well that it wouldn't end there.  
  
"Oh no you don't! We're almost a few steps away from Naraku and I'm not losing him again!" He leapt at the girl, claws extended and poised to tear the bag to shreds. Kagome, meanwhile moved her lips over the all powerful word once again.  
  
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"Inu-Yasha," Miroku placed a hand on the hanyou's shoulder. "Perhaps it was not so wise to wake the ladies this early."  
  
Behind the two men trailed Kagome and Sango; stumbling about in the half-light and glaring daggers at the pair in a way that froze the blood. Their hair was slightly askew, and they each bore dark circles beneath their sleep deprived eyes.  
  
Inu-Yasha struggled to overcome a shiver at the sight. "See what I mean?" Miroku commented dryly. "I suppose it would be best to let them be for a few hours."  
  
"Feh."  
  
"You did get 'sat' four times. What is the purpose of this early leave? We've been traveling for weeks, and it is due time for perhaps a longer rest than was spared." At first, Inu-Yasha yielded no answer, but after a moment's pause, pulled Miroku off the road.  
  
"I can't believe nobody's felt it but me, but there's a great gathering of demonic energy in that mountain range to the Southwest." He pointed a clawed finger in the general direction, and continued. "I can almost feel Naraku taunting me, and I can smell my brother."  
  
"Sesshomaru?" Miroku gripped his staff more tightly and glanced about nervously. "Could he be in league with Naraku?"  
  
"I doubt it, he seems to hate Naraku for various reasons. I don't know what he's after quite yet, but I think we can safely assume that he doesn't give a damn one way or another about what happens to us." A light breeze ruffled the surrounding trees, and an unsettling quiet descended. "And yet," Inu-Yasha's voice was the single sound, and had the impact of a gong in its solitude. "We still can't be sure. Keep your guard up monk." He pat Miroku's shoulder formally and resumed walking ahead into the mist, leaving a tense Miroku to stand alone in the road.  
  
"And to answer your question," Inu-Yasha called, "I will not let Naraku slip through my fingers again; and besides, what good would it be to lure such destruction to the village?" The monk nodded and began to follow the half-demon cautiously.  
  
Meanwhile, Kagome and Sango wondered at the interaction they had just witnessed. "What to do you think that was about?" Sango muttered.  
  
Kagome stared at them fiercely. "They were probably conspiring against us." With a moment of surprised realization, Sango lowered her head with Kagome and joined her gaze.  
  
"Or complaining of how 'weak' we are."  
  
"Let's kill the bastards."  
  
"Agreed."  
  
Shippou and Kirara could only glance back and forth between their companions, very confused at their murderous intent.  
  
  
  
"Hurry up or we'll lose the trail!" Inu-Yasha whined.  
  
"Will you shut, up?! We-need-to-rest." Kagome barked shortly as she picked at her food angrily.  
  
"It's to early to quit now! Naraku's getting away!"  
  
"Naraku's not going anywhere! For all we know this is probably a trap! Besides, do you really want to be 'sat' again? Because that can certainly be arranged." There were no more complaints from the dog-demon, who sat back in his tree quickly at the mention of "the word."  
  
Darkness had settled long ago, and the group had stopped to light a fire and eat something at sunset, though the sun itself had been masked by the ever present fog since the earliest hours of the day. It lingered like everyone's bad mood.  
  
Sango examined Kagome quietly, looking her up and down and noticing her lack of attention. "Kagome-chan, I think you got even less sleep than the rest of us, are you all right?" The girl's food had barely been touched, and she was as white as a sheet.  
  
"I've just, lost my appetite." She muttered and set her dish down. "May I, pardon me, but may I just be alone for awhile please?" The fire cracked and popped merrily, but it shed warmth to an ice queen. Slowly Kagome rose and wandered off into the surrounding woods. Sango said nothing, but it wasn't like Inu-Yasha to let this go.  
  
"You should quit doing that Kagome. Someday you're going to devoured or something, and I won't be there to protect you."  
  
"I'll only be a few feet away, and I don't need your protection 24/7." There wasn't a hint of sarcasm in her voice as she swung her quiver over her shoulder and gripped her bow. "Just call if you need me." She strode past her startled fellows without a single backwards glance, and left them in the firelight without a care.  
  
Around her, the trees opened like a dark curtain and seemed to beckon her into their black depths comfortingly. In moments, Kagome found herself crashing through them like a terrified animal, as she had done just the night before. Her breath soon came in rugged pants, and she reached forward as if trying to grasp something just out of her reach. Suddenly, without warning, she came stumbling into a wide clearing, fog streaming into it in a ghostlike manner.  
  
Without a single second spared to catching her breath, Kagome burst into song. She began fading into and out of a hum, keeping it low, wary of Inu-Yasha's sharp ears, and always repeating the same delicate tune. Gradually, she slowly curled into a tight ball and hugged her legs tightly, head buried into her arms, black hair fanning out about her shoulders like a shawl. Small tears rained down from her eyes, which she kept firmly closed. Yet still, the song poured from her. It was the song of her dream. Her nightmare, wether it was a lie or not, her horrible nightmare.  
  
"What's happening to me?" She sobbed between catches of the music. "All day long that song's been eating me up! All day long I've been fighting the urge to sing it to the heavens!" She put her face in her hands and cried out notes painfully, pausing only to wipe her tears. Truly, the mysterious song had plagued her dreams, which continued as scenes of that same woman standing before her, and the moon in the back round, crumbling into dust.   
  
The graceful tune had tortured her all through the night, causing her often to rise in a cold sweat, trembling uncontrollably. After numerous and brief bouts of fitful sleep, Kagome had given up on a good rest, and lain awake for many hours with blood-shot eyes, gazing out at nothing in an eerie daze. Only as the first rays of light began to wash over the land had she finally been released to sleep, woken shortly after by Inu-Yasha.  
  
The song had stayed with her, and every second she had to fight to keep it chained inside, lest she start screaming it to her companions.  
  
But something else had stayed with her as well, and it was Sesshomaru's name.  
  
The next day, Kagome and her fellow travelers woke up once again to the same dense mist. Now questionable, and unusual. However, despite the intimidating weather the company continued with their journey, trying not to spare it too much thought.  
  
Inu-Yasha was his usual self, moody and frustrated. The others were uncharacteristically much of the same, and each entertained a single thought: 'I hope Inu-Yasha knows where he's going in this mess.'  
  
Every step they took was dragging and weary. The seconds passed with tension and exhaustion, and yet they all felt the grinding need to push forward. Of course, the long hours were not without conversation. Kagome could do nothing but busy herself with small talk to be rid of the music. Ironically, she decided to make the music her topic of discussion.  
  
"Sango-chan," She followed her own footsteps with a heavy stare. "Have you ever heard this song before?" And she proceeded to hum it gently for her friend to hear, and found herself, not surprisingly, finding it difficult to stop.  
  
Sango watched her feet as well, not bothering to look up, or blink much for that matter. "That song? No I'm sorry Kagome-chan but I've never heard it."  
  
"Neither have I." Shippou mumbled next to Kagome's ear.  
  
"Oh, well never mind." Kagome then began to kick a rock back and forth between her ever-moving feet. Nobody noticed how each hit was keeping with a certain rhythm.  
  
Outwardly, she looked tired, and bored, but inside, her blood was boiling. Teasing ideas popped into her mind spontaneously. 'Something's going to happen.' 'Do you feel it?' 'That presence, someone's close...' All the while Kagome could only shake them out of her head for moments at a time before another would rise to haunt her. By then she was beginning to fear for her mental health. Never before had she been so expectant, and she didn't even know what she was expecting.  
  
______________________________________________________________________________  
  
The light began to fade slowly, drawing itself out. Thunder could be heard faintly in the distance, and every so often lightening would rip across the sky suddenly.   
  
At a word of advice from Inu-Yasha, they swerved off the path to cut through a tall woods in order to save time. Gradually, however, almost unnoticeably, as they walked through the trees, the sounds of the evening, of the creatures that dwelt in the branches and on the ground faded away, and some stopped abruptly. The travelers understood immediately that this was not their doing.   
  
Inu-Yasha became visibly nervous, and frequently began pulling Miroku off to the side for frantic, inaudible conversation. The half-demon's nose twitched about, and he muttered curses beneath his breath. Every muscle was pulled tight, for he had prepared his body for attack.   
  
After several agonizing minutes following his behavioral change Inu-Yasha released a sigh, and stopped in his tracks. The others did likewise, ready for inevitable bad news. Without turning to face his friends, Inu-Yasha's voice came echoing to them from out of the dark mist. "Everyone," he announced solemnly, "Sesshomaru has been circling us ever since we entered the forest. I don't know if he's playing with us or not, but you can bet he'll attack if he has continued like this for so long. Stay close, we're stopping for the night." The dog demon then drew his sword carefully and held it out as if he already saw his enemy.  
  
"Inu-Yasha," Miroku whispered. "Should we start a fire?" Darkness suddenly drowned what little light remained, and thunder crashed directly overhead.  
  
"No use." He spat, "Rain's coming."  
  
As if hailed by his word, a sheet of heavy rain began pouring from the sky harshly. It soaked each of them through in a heartbeat, and left them nearly blind with fog, lack of light, and a massive downpour combined.  
  
Miroku held fast to his staff, bitterly reminding himself not to use the hellhole unless Naraku himself were to appear before him.  
  
Sango placed a shaky hand on the large weapon strapped securely to her back, and made a check that Kirara was at her side, ready at any time to transform into her more ferocious form.  
  
Kagome was immobilized, only able to think of one thing, and one thing only. 'He's here.'  
  
A shadow grew out of the darkness before them, a figure began moving towards the group. Inu-Yasha froze as a low growl grew in the depths of his throat. Lightening tore across the heavens in an instant, every heart skipped a beat, for illuminated in that brief space of time, was the source of all the tension that had been raging in each of their souls.   
  
Still half in darkness, standing before them, was Sesshomaru.  
  
Well that's that. Personally, I think that chapter dragged a bit. But you're supposed to be your own worst critic so what the hell do I know? Time to reply to reviews! And I apologize sincerely for the cliffhanger.  
  
Kenshin N' Sano lover: I'm not telling you a damn thing girl! You'd better keep your mouth shut too if you know what's good for you. You have an advantage in this department. But even so, I think I'll trick you guys up just for the fun of it. Perhaps I shall write a different story. How do ya like dem apples? It would be boring if you knew everything already. Humor is a difficult thing to write Mooget; and I can't very well find a place to put it until Kagome starts to take life as it is instead being so "surprised" every time another monster shows up. She has to start not caring, not about life in general, but the surly teenager sort of way.  
  
Myouga Jiji: Well I'm glad you bit your tongue Myouga. I can write at a much faster pace, and this was done a few days ago, but things like technical difficulties and watching a ghost story with my sister that scared me to the point where I had to go upstairs rather than stay down here and put this chapter out created delays. And you would be afraid of mean people too if you ever decided to write anything.  
  
Kagura-chan: Oh, spectacular, mine is a "very will typed piece of work." Mind your grammar K-T. Because I know you I'll pick at your reviews if I want to. Hey, you know Myouga and Inu-Yasha signed up on FF.net? They say that you don't have to pay for it if you don't write anything, so maybe you should consider it and put me on your favorite authors and stories lists. I'll continue, don't worry, I've just been having some troubles with the computer. Oh, and the following two people I responded to above you are you-know-who and you-know-who. Just to let you know. Mooget wants me to disclose important story information in coming chapters too. That sneaky little devil, can you believe that?  
  
devilsangel: Yes I'll continue. Provided technology allows.  
  
Moon Fairy: I caught somebody's attention! In a good way! Well that's wonderful to hear and I'll try to update faster. I can you know, but things seem to conspire against me often. It's not my fault! Really!  
  
trihn: I'm glad you like it! Yes, yes I'll update as quick as I can.  
  
IceColdJade: You know, among myself and my very close friends we have created an internet language abbreviation called LLD. It stands for Laugh Like Dilly, and if you haven't seen Escaflowne you won't understand that joke, but the point is, you have pulled an LLD, and we like that. So continue laughing maniacally and I'm happy you have enjoyed my story thus far.  
  
Emme: Begging is not something I expected so soon, but if you insist. I'll add more, I'll add more, I promise. Things are just a little slow around here.  
  
Matakishi Hirata-san: Whoa, what a mouthful. Does your name mean anything or did you just make it up? I actually shouldn't be talking, I was about to make my name, "Akashira Takashe." Now that's going to be the name of a future story. Anyhow, I will update and e-mail as often as I can. Happy your enjoying the story!  
  
LyCheE: I will most certainly try to keep it up! Thank you for your support. Hee hee, that's what my journalism teacher used to say.  
  
Katzztar: Well your wait is over! And I'll be updating as often as possible so you won't have to again.  
  
jubilation15: Ha! Aren't you the clever one! That's all true, and that will be happening, hopefully in chapter 4 (I don't want to rush things and put it in chapter 3). But you read my mind! So far nobody's actually bothered to make such a dead on prediction about the future parts of the story.  
  
Thank you, thank you, your reviews have touched my heart. Chapter 3 should be on in the next two days. 


	3. I Still Don't Get It

Hey hey everyone! Well, things are working smoothly to my great delight. However, now that I realize I can safely download writings, I'm considering starting another story, because although I'm terribly fond of this one, I just love fresh opportunities. True to my nature, it would be some sort of Sesshomaru/Kagome fic, but with a twist. How does this sound? I can manage two stories at a time I'm sure, I just want someone's approval before I go for it. Personally, it is also a desire driven by the fact that I think that, given the chance, I could produce better work. Of course, I'm always putting myself down, so that doesn't have much credibility. Anyway, somebody has to speak to me, I need to know what to do! Back to the story at hand, I worked hard trying to get this out quickly to PROVE that I can indeed keep up with a story and computers suck to high heaven. Go for it you wonderful readers! I'm waiting for your positive reviews! Oh, and in case anyone is wondering, the bicycle DID NOT come along on this little crusade. I hate that thing. Pink is a wretched color for such a mode of transportation.  
  
My friends seem to like it this story anyway so I guess it can't be that bad.  
  
Disclaimer: Inu-Yasha and all his accessories belong to Rumiko-Takahashi. There, I said it. Now at least no one can sue me for THAT.  
  
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Reflection  
  
Chapter 3-I Still Don't Get It.  
  
As war brewed about the heavens in bursts of light and thunder, below, Inu-Yasha and his companions found themselves staring down another demon, and another enemy. However, this was no ordinary monster chasing after fragments of the Shikon jewel. Nor was it an ordinary enemy in the least. For no ordinary enemy could pierce them like that, with such a merciless stare of pale yellow, so akin to Inu-Yasha's, and yet no where close.  
  
Only truly visible in the brief flashes of lightening, Sesshomaru was still clearly enough of a threat to make them shrink like children before him. Only Inu-Yasha could efficiently conceal his fear as he glared at his brother viciously.  
  
"What do you want Sesshomaru?" He growled. All he receive was a chilling flip of the hand as the demon before him extended his claws for battle. Slowly, he began to approach the group with the same unreadable expression as all previous battles.  
  
Kagome's breathing came in heaves, her shoulders constricting and falling in the wake of the new and unexpected sense of desire and longing that had washed over her at the arrival of Inu-Yasha's sibling. Dizzily, she placed a quivering hand over her heart in an effort to calm herself, to no avail.  
  
Inu-Yasha continued to focus on Sesshomaru with murderous intent flickering in his eyes. He tightened his grasp on his sword momentarily, barely disguising it as the act of a warrior rather than a nervous instinct. "What do you want?"   
  
At first it seemed that his repeated statement had fallen on deaf ears, until Sesshomaru suddenly halted in his stalking movements toward them. In the darkness, one might have guessed that they had seen a wicked smile grace his features, but who could tell with such poor light?   
  
He raised his spiked hand to his face as both a shield and a weapon and uttered a response, though he believed his brother deserved none. "I will need Tetsusaiga when I destroy Naraku Inu-Yasha." His fingers snapped again and his eyes narrowed. "You and I both seem to realize that before us may very lie the final battle. Though only one of us will be there to witness it." With that, he resumed his advance, this time navigating about the trees like a shadowy spirit, tactically confusing and frightening them as he remained just barely in their vision.  
  
"But Sesshomaru, why not join us? We both want Naraku dead, why can't we help each other accomplish it?" Sango, the ever peaceful, had once again tried to understand the situation. It was a decent suggestion, and very logical, and yet, an ongoing rivalry saw no solutions, except for death and defeat.  
  
He returned her comment with the same attitude of nonchalance he was known for, though beneath his words there was the faintest hint of anger. "I need no aid," and he finally reappeared out of the forest like the lightening itself, a blur of speed and masterful combat ability.  
  
His claws reached out like daggers, and dripped with poison; they were aiming to take Inu-Yasha's head off, with deadly accuracy.  
  
The Hanyou spun around, and just barely managed to crush his brother's efforts, though still managing to acquire a deep gash at his throat. Immediately, his free hand moved to grip his neck as he tumbled to the ground messily, eyes still darting about like a panicked animal to locate the demon. "Kagome," he rasped, blood pouring about his clenching fingers, "Run... Away..."  
  
  
  
"Inu-Yasha!" She called desperately, followed in turn by Sango, Miroku, and Shippou; her legs instinctively making to run to her wounded friend. Miroku caught her by the arm in mid dash, and threw her as well as the kitsune behind a now towering Kirara, as he joined Sango at the outskirts of the confined fighting grounds.  
  
Kagome fought to crawl over the cat to gain a view of the situation at hand. Before her, Inu-Yasha was propping himself up with Tetsusaiga while struggling to rise. His hand was wrapped around his injury tightly, and his face was contorted in pain. Meanwhile, Sesshomaru was partially hidden among the shade of the woods, preparing for his next attack.  
  
'Dammit,' the half-demon thought. "I can hardly see him in all this!" Trees surrounded him on all sides, and he scowled at them with hatred. He had had to many bad experiences with trees. Arrows and what not. They could all burn in hell.  
  
"Having trouble brother?" Sesshomaru's voice drifted hauntingly out of the darkness.  
  
Inu-Yasha wobbled a bit as he managed somehow to lift himself up with a still gushing cut. He stared out triumphantly into the dense fog and pouring rain. Though he could tell where his brother stood, his attention was not called to him. "Feh, not anymore."  
  
With a mighty swing, the hanyou swept his sword around him brutally, illuminating everything briefly with a fountain of bright light. He roared dangerously, and bits of timber flew in all directions as tree after tree was hacked to pieces before the force of Tetsusaiga. When finished, he crouched on the earth in exhaustion, panting as the poison that now pumped through his veins began to take its toll on his body. He still managed a satisfied smirk, however, as he surveyed his handiwork.  
  
A massive expanse of bare ground opened before him, easily allowing a duel to take place without much hassle, and also, to his delight, several shattered trees fallen upon each other neatly like toppled dominoes. "There!" He said happily, "That should do it!" He began to turn towards where he had last seen Sesshomaru, "Now, back to our fi-"  
  
"What a worthless effort," Sesshomaru muttered as he charged at the half-demon swiftly, giving him no time to recollect himself or even finish his sentence.  
  
The two clashed and fought violently, Sesshomaru obviously having the upper hand as he sliced at Inu-Yasha, who's condition could only grow worse as he struggled about with the poison coursing through his blood.   
  
Kagome watched with tears threatening by the second. Her hands were scrunched about Kirara's soft fur, and she could barely resist springing up to bring an end to the fight, in any way that she could.   
  
Very vaguely, she noticed the faintest ringing in her ears, but pushed it back as much as she could at the moment. Her gaze remained locked on the now exhausted half-demon, he seemed on the very edge of collapsing, and that would certainly mean death. As she scrambled for a solution, Kagome turned her eyes then on his attacker; and for smallest moment, she stared into him.  
  
'It's him...'  
  
The rain pattered down in silence, and the demon dropped his hand slowly, no longer concerned with his brother. All things froze to a halt for the briefest space of time as he met this young woman for what seemed like the first time. He had, of course been aware of her presence, but, had he never looked at her before? Something about her eyes and the way they invaded his very being was incredible. They were so familiar... Like her scent, her entire being, it was suddenly all so familiar... A name came to his mind, almost unconsciously, he had the desire to whisper it to himself, but held his tongue. For the moment, he was content simply to drink in the sight of her.  
  
Kagome in turn, felt the same way, as she explored his soul simply by looking at him. Even more astounding, that he would let her, and seem to enjoy it. Her mouth nearly turned up in a half -smile, and her eyes softened, all else forgotten. Sesshomaru did likewise.  
  
He made to approach her then, thoughts drifting through his mind carelessly, 'This must have been the blinding need I felt... It was for her, not the sword...'  
  
Inu-Yasha then tried to recollect himself, just a touch jealous, and ready to take advantage of his brother's dismissive attitude. His sword raised and ready, he began his charge, when a sudden cry split through the silence. Stopping dead in his tracks, his head spun around to target the source, and found Kagome, hunched over in what looked like incredible pain, hands clasped to her ears tightly.  
  
'Kagome-chan!" Sango shouted as she moved to her friend's side and placed her arms around her protectively. Kagome cried out in pain again, and began to writhe on the spot with eyes screwed shut, her whole being shook. "Kagome-chan..."  
  
"No," she was whispering, "leave me alone!" Miroku had since joined Sango at her side, with Shippou tugging at her uniform; concern written all over their faces.  
  
"What's wrong?" Sango asked soothingly as she rubbed her friend's back like a patient mother. Very quietly, she was answered with a small song.  
  
Kagome turned and embraced the exterminator suddenly, sobbing terribly like a child as she gradually sang louder. "It-it's been in my head for so long..." She wept, "I don't know what it is, where it came from..." She then continued to sing while Sango held her in confusion, unable to understand what the girl was trying to say. Sesshomaru, stood blankly, as if in sudden realization.   
  
Gently, Kagome's tears slowed as she stumbled to her feet, leaving Sango on the ground in a daze. She stalked towards the demon lord who still stood in the clearing, now fuming with anger rather than in a blissful trance. "But you know, don't you?" He stared down at her, still appearing shocked.  
  
"So tell me," she continued. "Why? Why is it here? Why am I the only one? Why do I hear it every hour, every second of the day? And why does it get louder when you show up?!" Silence. Her rage grew. "ANSWER ME!" Her voice was a clear shout amidst the falling rain. The others looked on, Inu-Yasha still crouched on the ground with a bleeding gash.  
  
Sesshomaru's eyes were distant, and as he looked down at Kagome, he seemed to be staring into the eyes of someone different. "I do know that song," he murmured, "and I knew the one who used to sing it."  
  
'Could this be her?' He thought to himself. 'Impossible...'  
  
"WELL?" Her hands shot out to snatch the collar of his shirt. But very lightly, their bare skin touched for an instant in the movement, and a gasp shook both of them. Lightening flashed, and for the second time that evening all movement ceased as both were taken by a sudden vision.  
  
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"Sesshomaru..." Her fingers slid through his hair gently.   
  
The leaves of the tree above sighed and shifted with the light breeze. The whole atmosphere of the scene was so peaceful. Together, they sat beneath a towering tree, lone on a green hill; Sesshomaru's head rested on her lap as she stroked his mane. He appeared to be asleep. The sun was partially masked by lazy clouds that drifted across the sky.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Will you promise me something?" His eyes fluttered open.  
  
The wind sailed through the tall grasses and she hesitated in the wake of his penetrating gaze. "Well, I know it will seem unusual, but I need you to..." She faltered and turned away from him, suddenly very quiet. He reached up and brought her to face him again with a touch at her chin.  
  
"Tell me." It was a cold command, but his voice was soft all the same.  
  
Sighing, she forced out her request finally, "I want you to promise me that you will never change." His eyes narrowed in confusion, and she bowed her head with a slight blush, "you are so wonderful, and pure." She mumbled.  
  
He raised himself into a sitting position, hair tumbling behind him, revealing that he wore no weapons at his side, and his claws were held in check. There were no marks on his wrists, and no hint of poison anywhere.  
  
She smiled and looked out into the horizon, "You are the one I fell in love with." With a tiny chuckle she cocked her head to one side and focused on a pair of birds, courting each other and dancing on the clouds.  
  
"To me, you are like the sun itself. You are my life Sesshomaru, you have brought me great joy, and you make this sad, bleak world of war and hatred so much brighter." She reached out and stroked his cheek, watching with delight as he leaned into it like the puppy that he was. "Life cannot exist without the sun," and he paused, waiting for her to continue. "I could not exist without the sun.  
  
Their hair flowed together in the wind, white and gold, intertwined.  
  
Gold hair...  
  
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Kagome snapped back to reality suddenly, her hands shaking in mid-grasp where they had brushed against Sesshomaru's skin. She crumbled to the ground like a wilted flower and sat there, dumbstruck and unable to comprehend what she had just seen. Her mind spoke to her, told her that she had experienced another dream, but now, this time, she truly realized that this couldn't possibly be a mere nightmare.  
  
She hadn't just watched, she had felt. Kagome had gone through that, as that woman. That was her, she was talking, moving, as that woman willed, and yet, it wasn't two separate people animating a single being, it had been her. Kagome. She had said and moved as she had felt the need to. It was her.  
  
Very carefully, she gathered a bit of her hair in her hands and held it up before her. 'Dark.' She thought. "I have dark hair..."  
  
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Sorry! I decided to make this a small chapter. You see, when you have a large and dramatic event take place, no matter how much space it takes up, it seems out of place to cram small details in at the end rather than end it with a haunting and mysterious note. I'll be updating more very soon, so you needn't worry. Besides which, every chapter is intended to be at least six pages long, so that should be good enough. I didn't mention the woman's name on purpose, so don't pester me about it, you'll know eventually, I don't want to rush. You guys still need something to guess at, I'm giving too much information away as it is. Remember to state your opinion on what I should do about writing another story. Yes? No? Hotdog? And another thing, I wanted to put Chapter 3 out A.S.A.P. because I felt I owed it to all of you for making you wait, I mean, it's not fair, you act like you're interested. Chapter 4 I'm going to make a lot longer, AND I'll find a way to write it smoothly enough so that it doesn't seem like I cram too much in. That should be out in the coming three or four days. Keep reading and writing!  
  
Thanx,  
  
Snarfburgalar, the Ever Nimble 


	4. Can't Live Within You

Hello, hello, back again! I'm trying to put out as many chapters as possible between now, and about a week, because I'll be busy with the Fourth of July, my Grandmother's birthday, and various other things. Spending time with my family will be the thing to do, so I doubt if I'll have any time to write. Well, this is Chapter Four, I don't have much to say until the end of it, so have fun kids!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Inu-Yasha, it belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, yes, yes, yes.  
  
Reflection  
  
Chapter 4-Can't Live Within You  
  
  
  
Inu-Yasha struggled to overcome the poison. It had seeped deep into his heart since Sesshomaru had struck him violently across the throat and had been causing him terrible, burning pain.  
  
Because of said poison, the wound itself refused to close, and his blood poured freely, soaking the front of his shirt through second by second. Demons rarely suffered from lack of blood, as their unique healing abilities often saved them, but in this case, it had become a very real possibility.   
  
His vision blurred hazily, even now he could only barely make out Kagome as she sat, numb to the world, at Sesshomaru's feet. His brother looked equally as dismal, though he was yet to determine why.  
  
As the dragging seconds passed, very faintly, his wrecked mind registered the fact that Kagome was in the presence of his brother.  
  
HIS brother.   
  
'That's dangerous...' He observed dimly.   
  
His hand, shaking violently, crawled out to the two slowly, reaching, trying to grasp Kagome's form. "Kagome..." He whispered hoarsely, and moments later fell to the ground, eyes still open, though the light had left them.  
  
Kagome turned her head at the source of a small crash, her gaze withdrawn from her hair, which she had found a new fascination with since drawing out of her trance-like state with Sesshomaru.   
  
"Inu-Yasha!" She suddenly exclaimed, and the song, the visions, all of it left her mind in an instant at the sight of her dear friend. Immediately, she sprang to her feet and scrambled over to his side, still breathing his name. "Inu-Yasha, oh please, Inu-Yasha!" She rolled him into her arms gently, and searched him for signs of life, beginning to weep over his still form.  
  
"Quickly," Miroku shouted as he dashed over to them, "check his pulse!" Kagome nodded shortly and pressed two hesitant fingers to the hanyou's wrist. 'It's so faint...' She thought helplessly. The heartbeat was only a flicker, very brief and over extended periods of four or five seconds.  
  
"Not good," she mumbled.  
  
Shippou clung to Sango's shoulder, as they too, as well as Kirara, raced to gather around their fallen companion. As they neared, however, an uncharacteristically brave Shippou tossed a comment over his shoulder to the Demon Lord who watched on in silence. "This is all your fault!" He spat.   
  
Unexpectedly, Sesshomaru felt a pang of guilt strike him suddenly, and he found himself nearing walking towards them. Kagome looked up at him as he approached. "He's dying..." She whispered. In her eyes, there was no accusation, no anger, no hatred, but concern, and love, and, as he studied her even further, a plea for help; and he was compelled to answer it.  
  
Sesshomaru considered his sword first, and realized that he could simply allow Inu-Yasha to die and then revive him seconds after. But deep in the confines of his heart, he rethought the proposition.   
  
'No, I couldn't.' He wouldn't be able to live with himself knowing that he had murdered his own kin, it was too horrific to bear. Moments ago, he might have allowed it without a backward glance, and yet, somehow, he was different, his emotions were more keen and overpowering, particularly now, when he felt the urgency of time.  
  
Without a word, he bent to shuffle his unconscious sibling into his embrace and rose, towering above all of them with the same unreadable expression he was known for.  
  
Both Sango and Shippou looked ready to intervene, and Kirara bristled with rage. Miroku tried to remain calm and thoughtful, though obviously having doubts, while Kagome smiled in spite of it all, a small smile, but a smile all the same. Her eyes now conveyed a simple, straightforward message: "thank you."  
  
"Come," Sesshomaru snapped as he turned and took flight without warning.   
  
Sango glanced at Kagome hesitantly, searching for an answer. "Kagome-chan-"  
  
"We can trust him, now let's hurry." The young woman was acting now like everything was natural, with much confidence in her voice. From sobbing to smiling in less than a minute; it was odd, and almost frustrating for the exterminator.   
  
Having issued the command, Kagome hopped onto Kirara, and motioned for Miroku, Sango, and Shippou to do the same.  
  
"If you say so Kagome-sama," Miroku muttered as he slid on with the girl. Sango, still concerned, very carefully did the same, tossing confused looks in Kagome's direction as Kirara leapt into the air, following Sesshomaru to wherever he intended to take Inu-Yasha.  
  
Sesshomaru cradled the hanyou in his arms cautiously, feeling very much the responsible older brother all of a sudden.  
  
Behind him, he could detect the smell of the mononoke as well as it's passengers. Though most distinctly, the girl.  
  
'Has she brought on this change?'  
  
Her name was Kagome, of this, he was certain. He had heard the name spoken before, saw her respond to it, and marveled at its charm. The very word itself seemed to hold a light heart that beat as strongly as his own. As he recalled, it was the name of a children's song, which seemed very fitting for the young woman. She often inspired the delight of others like a child, why not then, shouldn't she be named after one of their most favored rhymes?  
  
His attention was called back to Inu-Yasha as he felt his soul and scent gradually continue to disappear little by little. He would need medical care immediately, death was upon him.  
  
Sesshomaru was headed, at present, to a fortress built strategically into the side of a mountain in the very South of his lands. They would certainly be concealed well in that place.  
  
'Concealed,' he thought, 'from Naraku.' He had truly forgotten it in the rush of so many new events, but his anger was now fully recovered, and he clenched his fists tightly with remembrance of the hateful creature. Someday, he would defeat him with his own two hands, someday, though this would not be it. Inu-Yasha called for him now. Perhaps he did not need aid, but his brother did.  
  
Sesshomaru picked up the pace a bit and skirted off along the clouds in a sphere of radiant blue light, trusting that the mononoke would be able to follow his scent.  
  
"Hey..." Shippou whined as he watched Inu-Yasha and his brother rocket out of sight, "Wait up!"  
  
No one but the little kitsune was particularly bothered by it. But Shippou took it as potential betrayal immediately. "He's getting away! We should have never trusted Sesshomaru!"  
  
"Well I hope that he is 'getting away' as you put it Shippou, Inu-Yasha could die at any moment." Miroku commented dryly. Shippou slouched on his perch, now the monk's arm rather than Sango's.  
  
"There's still no reason to trust him," he sulked.  
  
Both the demon exterminator and Kagome remained statuesque, not speaking, not even making eye contact. At heart, Sango expected that she felt the events that had taken place between her friend and the demon lord more deeply than Kagome had. Her mind struggled for answers as she tried to determine how it was possible Kagome could be so unaffected as she was. Eventually she left it as true concern for Inu-Yasha, and scolded herself for a moment for doubting her.  
  
Kagome prayed silently for the hanyou with heartfelt determination, but she was not above thinking of another man at the moment. Sango had been wrong, the young woman was as much focused on Sesshomaru as she was the younger sibling, as well as the strange new dreamlike occurance, and, the song; the song that no longer plagued her mind, that didn't even cross her mind anymore without her own will.  
  
It seemed to have faded all together as soon as she had experienced that nightmare, or dream, or whatever it was. Kagome was actually certain that it couldn't be a nightmare, she hadn't fallen asleep. It couldn't have been a daydream, those were voluntary. The only real possibility she could conceive was that it had been a vision, of sorts; but that couldn't be possible either, for Kagome had a strangely irking feeling that Sesshomaru had experienced it too.   
  
What she wanted to know, was who he had seen before him. Had it been her, or was it truly the woman with the golden hair, so unlike her own?   
  
Also just as curious, why, all of a sudden, she couldn't place any hate for the demon. Not even an hour ago, she had held fiercely to the idea that no matter what, he was a cold-blooded killer; now, she might even think of him as a friend. At least he was trying to help Inu-Yasha, that was good, wasn't it? Perhaps that had brought on her change of opinion.  
  
Her face suddenly scrunched into a scowl; to make matters worse, it was still raining, of all things. Kirara's fur was wet and slick, and she could easily slide off at any moment. The whole evening had been a wet mess. 'What is wrong with the weather?" She sniffed angrily, tempted to brake the uncomfortable silence that had settled over the group by saying it out loud, though feeling awkward as soon as she had even considered it. Instead, she kept to her own thoughts and observations.  
  
Sango sat frigidly before her, not even bothering to give her a characteristic, consoling smile. Kagome got the faint impression that she was angry about something, about...her. 'She must think I'm taking this too lightly,' Kagome thought, 'I mean, I just about exploded with pain, and then there's Sesshomaru, and now Inu-Yasha's on the brink of death. She must think I'm such a jerk...' Of course, it was just a thought, an assumption, but it was nearly accurate; though Kagome didn't know that. In all honesty it was just a dark little thought born of her anxieties, nothing more at all.  
  
Kagome did worry for herself. Why was she taking this so well? It was true, she should be completely distressed at this point. But something deep inside her continued to tell her not to worry, and she couldn't figure that out either. She couldn't figure anything out these days.   
  
'Like, for example, I CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHY IT IS RAINING!!!' She huffed and put her head down in rage. It was all too overwhelming right now, no matter how she chose to accept it. She needed a hot spring. She needed Inu-Yasha around so she could tell him to "sit." She needed it to stop raining. She needed lots of things.  
  
  
  
The castle drew into view slowly, and Inu-Yasha was nearly dead. But miraculously, the half-demon clung to life sincerely, and as the mighty building loomed into view, he was still breathing shallowly.  
  
The castle itself was a feat of the engineering of the time. It was crafted carefully into a natural dent in the rock, all of its nine levels created like stairs individually; each supported by slender beams, creating a near waterfall effect.   
  
Despite it's beauty, however, it had been created as a tool of war. His father had used it frequently during times of battle due to its discrete location; being nearly surrounded by mountains acting both as a mask, and a shield. Few were aware of its whereabouts, prompting his decision to allow Inu-Yasha and his mother to live there at times for their own safety. It was also enormous, and could contain a small army if needed, thus becoming a base of operations for all intents and purposes. Indeed, it was a very useful, and secretive fortress, just the place to allow Inu-Yasha to heal properly, and conveniently close enough so that he had been able to access it in this brief space of time.  
  
By then, he had reached the gardens that were spread at its base, and alighted gracefully in their midst. Without a moment's hesitation, he began racing through them, the quickest way to reach the large gate, which was concealed in the rock, like most everything else. Exotic trees and flowers opened before him as he navigated through the brush skillfully, they were all gifts from foreign lands, spoils of war, or other, unnecessary additions to his father's wealth of variety and riches at the time.  
  
At last the gate finally loomed before him, accompanied by two solitary statues molded after identical beasts. They had been created centuries ago, and acted as guards of the palace. Though seemingly decorative casts of stone, at the mere buzzing of an unbidden insect, they would spring to life without warning to annihilate any uninvited guest. They had recognized his blood and Inu-Yasha's immediately, as they had been built to, and allowed them passage without a passing glance; but he would have to clarify with them somehow to allow the girl and her companions through as well.  
  
'No time.' He thought rapidly a he raced into the building, barely able to hold onto reality without remembering his brother nearly dead in his arms. Sesshomaru's surroundings now appeared to him as a dizzying blur, too swiftly passing by to be acknowledged or even visible as he brushed through the maze-like halls. Servants bowed to him as he passed, considering him as a guest at least because of his very presence though they knew not his identity due to his speed.  
  
It was a simple enough journey, he had spent so much of his life here that hecould remember where the healers dwelt in the vastness of the castle, and he could smell the scent of old blood that still lingered in that particular wing.  
  
The scent grew stronger; he gradually began to slow as his destination ahead became more clear, the next corner he turned would bring him to the end of his search.   
  
'Finally.'  
  
Any of the rooms along the hall he now stood before would suit his brother's needs; shooting into the most accessible one, he began calling for a healer. Very gently, he lowered Inu-Yasha into the futon at his feet, and proceeded to check his breathing and pulse. It was low, nearly undetectable. For an instant, Sesshomaru had feared his brother might have died, and yet his heart continued to beat, he had life in him yet, he would save him.  
  
'Inu-Yasha, my brother, you will not die.'  
  
Kagome resisted the urge to break into a sprint down the halls of the impressively large building she now wandered so impatiently in.   
  
A seemingly emotionless vassal now led them through the quiet halls of the castle. She might have commented on how he reminded her of Sesshomaru, but somehow, it wasn't the same. The little man had a tired face, still smiling cheerily, but old and lacking of true happiness. He was aged, at least sixty, with his thin gray hair pulled back with a dignified tie high on the back of his head, dressed formally, though not as one with a royal back round.  
  
This servant had met them at the gate, leading them through with nervous looks directed at the statues that stood on either side like they would attack at any given moment. Because of his age, however, they were traveling at a much slower rate than Kagome would have preferred. Perhaps Inu-Yasha was in the care of the professionals of the time, but she still feared for him. His wounds had been terrible, he might not survive...   
  
Servants much like their current guide lowered their heads at them silently as they passed, while some even got down on their hands and knees and bowed. Surprisingly, it was an even mix of both demons and humans. The man before them himself was human.   
  
Their ages seemed to range from very young adults, to men and women as old as eighty, but there were no children to be seen anywhere. Even more noticeable, that they met no one who appeared to have a higher rank than a personal attendant. 'Does no one live here?' Kagome began to wonder.  
  
After what seemed an eternity of tense silence, the group finally rounded a sharp corner at the end of a wide hall. At the first room on the left, the elderly man stopped and slid the door open slowly, motioning for them to enter.  
  
Kagome hesitated and stared at the man for an moment for approval. He nodded slightly and urged her forward, bobbing his head once more in return to the girl before she bolted in, followed by Sango.   
  
Neither one of the frantic young women seemed not to have even noticed the small child sitting beside the door, knees drawn up to her chin, arms folded over them, and eyes half-closed in what had resembled sleepiness. She had perked up at their arrival, however, almost instantly, all tire banished from her gaze, replaced with sparkling charm. Her hair was partially bundled up in a lopsided ponytail, and she wore a summer yukata decorated with red and yellow flowers.  
  
  
  
"Hello!" She chirped at the remaining Shippou and Miroku. "Rin was wondering when you would arrive!" She then leapt up excitedly and began gawking at Shippou's tail.  
  
Miroku gentlemanly bent down a bit to lock eyes with the girl and spoke lightly. "And who is Rin?" He asked quietly.  
  
The small girl giggled and pointed at herself proudly. "Ahhh... Shippou why don't you handle this." Miroku said as he darted into the room smoothly.  
  
"Hey wait a minute Miroku, I want to see Inu-Yasha too!" The kitsune shouted to the inside of the chamber.  
  
"I'll fill you in on the details!" The monk called over his shoulder as he disappeared through a second archway.  
  
Shippou clenched his fists and muttered a few curses under his breath angrily before he suddenly became aware of the still staring girl standing in front of him. A few seconds of silence passed awkwardly before she pointed at his bushy tail brightly. "Rin likes your tail."  
  
  
  
"Oh Inu-Yasha..." Kagome cried as she stroked the hanyou's brow tenderly with a damp cloth. His warm breath tickled her hand as she did so, frequently, and steadily, a pleasant reminder that her friend was alive and well.  
  
"I hadn't even thought of your sword Sesshomaru, why didn't you use it?" Sango asked cautiously. She received no reply from the demon lord, who stood coldly before them. She didn't press him about it either, they owed him their thanks for saving Inu-Yasha, there was no need to bother him now.  
  
Miroku sat on his legs beside Sango. His staff laid across his lap. "It is a wonder that Inu-Yasha was able to survive, even with the care of healers as skilled as the ones you have here." He had changed the subject for a reason. Whatever was needed to break the frigid silence he would certainly provide. Everyone except for the joyful Kagome was acting as if Inu-Yasha had died instead.  
  
Several hours had passed since Kagome had come bursting into the room with Sango and Miroku, and faint light had appeared on the horizon, signaling that dawn was not far off. Since then, they had watched with bated breath as he underwent the painful process of healing, overseen by demon healers whose hands were much more delicate and precise than any human's. They had sown the would carefully, and extracted a bit of the poison around it, but left the rest up to Inu-Yasha, and fate.  
  
In the end, the half-demon had pulled through just barely, and was now attended only by Kagome, who persistently attempted to bring down his diminished fever with various signs of affection.  
  
All in all, there was now a strange sort of eerie calm that had settled over the room. Kagome was absorbed in her care of Inu-Yasha, but both Miroku and Sango had noticed his brother's odd behavior long ago.  
  
They alone were wondering over his sudden change of heart. They had seen the way he had hovered over his sibling like a hawk, always badgering the healers with reports of his progress throughout the whole escapade. One might have assumed that it was a passing thing, and that he might fade entirely into his old self once it had been announced that Inu-Yasha would live, but thing's had only become more mysterious.  
  
Rather than be focused on his younger brother, Sesshomaru's eyes now rested on Kagome. He had been watching her silently for sometime. She hadn't realized it. Of course, this could only serve to make the exterminator and the monk nervous, and they each had been making dry comments to hold the demon's attention, to no avail. Eventually, he had just stopped responding, increasing the tension considerably.  
  
Miroku was preparing now to question him on the subject, happy to end it finally, and his mouth opened to speak when he was suddenly halted by an unexpected command from Sesshomaru.   
  
"Kagome," he spoke tightly, with more power and depth than usual. The young woman turned to face him slowly. "I would like a word with you alone." It was odd, hearing those words come from him. Perhaps they had expected a more dictating choice, but even so, he was still undeniably strict about it, and Kagome rose quickly.  
  
Together, they both strode out of the room like shadows, a worried expression covering Kagome's features like a veil. Behind them, they left Sang and Miroku bewildered, and confused.  
  
"Do you think he will harm her?" Sango mumbled once they had left.  
  
"I doubt it, but as Inu-Yasha once told me, 'you can't be sure.'"  
  
I know, I know, it ends abruptly. Don't worry. I'll update soon. Besides, it's just about three in the morning and I don't want to experiment with writing at that hour. I don't think you'll want me to either. But hey, it was a pretty long chapter anyway. Well, I'm going to bed folks. Also, I have no idea if Tensaiga only works once the person you are trying to save is dead or not. They were never very clear on that in the series, so I just assumed, you know. And also, the whole purpose of this chapter was basically to got them at the castle. It'll help the story along later. Hope you liked it. 


	5. The Stars In the Sky

Okay, okay, okay, I JUST GOT BACK. I'm posting this as soon as possible, because, I know some people have been waiting for it. Enjoy.  
  
Disclaimer: Inu-Yasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.  
  
Lucky bi-  
  
Reflection  
  
Chapter 5-The Stars in the Sky  
  
He looked down at her coldly, what was unmistakably anger burning deep inside his eyes. She resisted the urge to run back to the safety of her friends; regretting leaving her bow behind, and suddenly very aware that despite the fact that he was aiding them, Sesshomaru was still a very dangerous individual.  
  
"What have you done?" It was more a statement than a question, which she took with immediate confusion.  
  
"What have I done? What are you talking about?" Kagome's words were very timid, betraying her fear, and far less final than she had intended them to be.  
  
Sesshomaru was unmoving, his gaze only becoming more intimidating by the second. It seemed like he expected her to tell the truth, that she was lying, but she could only meet him with silence. After a few tense moments, he only made matters worse by leaning in very close to her, causing Kagome to back up slowly into the wall behind her. Sufficiently cornering her, his eyes narrowed to sharp, amber slits, and he spoke again with a voice much deeper than usual.  
  
"You know of what I speak."   
  
Kagome visibly shrank, and unable to face him, turned away. "I really don't know..."  
  
Sesshomaru's gaze seemed to soften in defeat, but he did not withdraw. For a moment, out of the corner of her eye, Kagome thought she could see a brief hint of pain flicker across his face. 'Maybe he really did experience the vision...' She thought.  
  
"I think I know what you mean, a little bit, though..." Kagome mumbled, and she moved back to look him in the eyes, hoping he might move away to let her through, only to find him as immovable as a wall.   
  
"Go on."  
  
She sighed and her eyes moved to the floor. She felt no desire whatsoever to confide in anyone, let alone Sesshomaru. "I've been having theses visions, at least, I think they're visions, of a woman, with golden hair..."  
  
Silence.  
  
"The first time, she was speaking TO me, but now, I feel, like... Like I'm actually her." He still revealed no true hint of emotion, and she took it as a sign to continue.   
  
Kagome felt a burning need to just spit it all out, get it over with, but she couldn't bring herself to just spill her guts to this demon lord. Her mouth moved over the words hesitantly. The tears at the edges of her eyes were both threatening and tempting.  
  
"I saw her die, in someone's arms," her hands clenched into fists, "I think, they were..."  
  
He suddenly came even closer, pressing a response out of her with his glare.  
  
"Your, arms."  
  
He was very rigid for an instant, and then moved away, turning his back on her, and becoming totally silent. Kagome took advantage of the fact that he had finally drew back to regain her confidence, now feeling a strange pang of sadness for him.  
  
"I had slept with images of her in my head for a few days, and then, just a few hours ago, when I touched your skin, and I had another vision. But it was different that time." There was still nothing from him and she went on. "I was actually seeing things through her eyes, or maybe, my eyes. You were there for sure." She smiled a bit, trying to cheer him, though she knew he couldn't see her. "You're head was on my, or her-"  
  
"Lap." He finished suddenly. He looked over his shoulder at her quietly. "My head was on HER lap." The demon put a bit of emphasis on the word "her," causing, to Kagome's great surprise, a small grief in her heart.  
  
'What was I expecting him to say?' she wondered for a moment before trying to act relieved about it. "So you DID share this vision, and you saw the woman. Who is she?"   
  
He walked out to the balcony. He had spent a good deal of time taking her through multiple halls, finally leading her into a vacant room with large windows and doors that opened out onto the mountains before he started to confront her about their predicament.   
  
His eyes were distant, as if focused on someone before him that only he could see. "Sesshomaru?" Kagome asked quietly.  
  
"She was someone I knew long ago." His hands were wrapped around the railing stiffly. Kagome waited for him to continue, but eventually, she realized with dismay that he had finished, and she hung her head in dissatisfaction.   
  
Kagome was just about to leave, when she suddenly remembered that she would have to tell him about the song. He had heard it when the pain of it had taken her, but perhaps he had forgotten.  
  
"Oh, Sesshomaru," his head rose a bit in annoyance, thoughts broken, "that song you heard, the one I was singing before I had the vision, it goes like this," she sang it softly, briefly, watching in curiosity as his eyes widened a bit. "I'd been hearing it over and over again in my head for about two days. I thought you might know what it was about, remember?"   
  
No answer.   
  
"Well?" Now he was starting to annoy HER.   
  
After finally giving up on him, Kagome turned on her heel and stormed out of the room, leaving the demon lord to whatever dismal thoughts he was confusing himself with.  
  
'Men.' She thought angrily as she stomped through the tangled halls of the palace. After a few turns, however, she realized unhappily that she had no clear idea of where she was going.   
  
"Peachy."   
  
After huffing about like a moron for a bit, trying to determine a solution, she sighed deeply in defeat. "I suppose I'll have to ask for directions..." She muttered, though she pitied the poor servant that had to cross her when she was in a mood like this.  
  
But just as Kagome began snooping about for another living creature in what had suddenly become a ghost town, delicate laughter drifted to her ears.   
  
"What's that?" She asked to no one in particular. It sounded like children. Slowly, she wandered to the source of the sound like a lost child herself.  
  
She couldn't imagine where it could be coming from. Kagome hadn't seen any children in the castle at all, was she imagining things?  
  
Her search soon lead her to a dead end, at which she resisted the temptation to break something, when she noticed a small door to her right. The laughter seemed to echo from the other side. Carefully, she pulled the door back, letting it slide along the grooves gently.  
  
A gasp shook her when she had revealed what lay before her on the other side.  
  
"It, it's a garden!"  
  
Kagome stood awestruck as she admired the sweeping expanse of lush greenery. Upon entering the castle for the first time, she had seen a vast garden at it's base (in fact, it had taken them quite a long time to poke through the mess), but she could have never imagined putting one amidst the fortress itself! They built the thing on a mountain! How could they possible have a garden HERE?  
  
Carefully, she stepped lightly onto the velvety green lawn, and looking up, realized that in every direction, if you walked long enough, you would find a wall of the castle. The garden was boxed in, and it reminded her vaguely of a greenhouse.  
  
It was filled with towering exotic plants, and colorful birds danced about the canopy. Kagome held her breath in wonder.  
  
"What a beautiful place..." She mumbled with a slight whistle.  
  
Reluctantly, her brief moment of bliss was broken, she remembered the mysterious laughter. Timidly, she began shifting about the trees, quite certain that she would find the source in a moment. As journeyed through the forest, the plants started to give way gradually, eventually revealing a small clearing, and inside it, a pond.  
  
Graceful white lilies were spread across its surface, and what looked like an ancient willow was bent pleasantly over it, its branches drifting in the water lazily.  
  
Sitting beside the pond, making flower wreaths happily, were two figures.  
  
'Aha! Children! That solves that mystery.' Kagome thought triumphantly. She quietly snuck over to them, trying to glimpse their faces while not disturbing their fun.  
  
One of them was babbling quickly. "AndKagome'srealniceandsoisSangoMiroku's- apervertedmonkandInu-Yasha'sjustreallymeanandstupid..."  
  
"Shippou-chan!" Kagome exclaimed brightly, hurrying to the little kitsune.  
  
  
  
"Hi Kagome!" She scooped him up into her arms and smiled at him before turning to observe his companion.  
  
"And who is this?"  
  
A young girl with a side ponytail was grinning up at her with a toothy smile. She was opening her mouth to speak when Shippou scuttled away from Kagome's grasp and placed a hand on her shoulder.  
  
"This is Rin, she lives here with Sesshomaru."  
  
"With Sesshomaru? I didn't know he had any children." Kagome was puzzled, she remembered seeing the little girl before, but she couldn't quite remember where...  
  
  
  
Shippou shook his head. "Nah, he doesn't. He um... He..."   
  
"Sesshomaru-sama saved Rin with his sword!" Rin interrupted, and Shippou nodded in agreement.  
  
"That's right, and then Rin traveled with him for a while until he said it was too dangerous and left her here." Said Shippou. Rin folded her arms unhappily and began to pout. She obviously hadn't approved of that decision.  
  
Kagome's mouth formed and "O." "That's right," she muttered, "I've seen you with Sesshomaru before." Rin brightened, pleased that she had been thought of by at least one person.  
  
Kagome then snapped her fingers shortly, startling the two as she remembered why she had been snooping about in the first place. "Hey Rin, do you know how to get back to, um, Sesshomaru's brother's room?" Hoping that she child was aware of who she was talking about. Rin nodded quickly and started spitting out directions.  
  
"Rin knows! You have to go down, um, that hall," she said, pointing at the east wall and moving her finger across it, "and then, go to the, left! Then...Left again, and then right, and then you go to the room to the...Left! Hmhm!" She nodded again proudly. They were sketchy directions, but they would have to do. In fact, she was suddenly very thankful that Rin knew left from right at all.  
  
Kagome smiled at her, and looked up at the beaming sun contentedly. It had stopped raining, finally, at least she had something to be happy about. "Well," she rose and stretched a bit. "I think I should be getting back to Inu-Yasha now. Have fun!" She waved at them and dashed into the forest, leaving them to their flower wreaths. She just barely heard Shippou's "bye Kagome!" As she ran to the door through which she had entered.  
  
"Thank you Rin-Chan!" She shouted, hearing Rin squeal with delight at her new title.  
  
Kagome followed Rin's sloppy directions to the best of her ability and patiently walked down the halls. With immense joy and relief, she eventually found Inu-Yasha's door staring at her, and entered quietly.  
  
Sango and Miroku beamed up at her upon entering, faintly looking relieved about something.  
  
"Hello Kagome-chan!" Sango chirped.  
  
Miroku bowed his head at her. "Kagome-sama."  
  
"How's Inu-Yasha?" She asked timidly.  
  
Sango gave a suspicious grin. "Funny you should ask Kagome-chan, he just woke up." Kagome smiled delightedly and turned to face the injured hanyou on his futon.  
  
He had his arms folded crossly with a disgruntled expression. Clearly wanting to sit up the way he normally did. He reminded her of Rin.  
  
"Feh."  
  
Kagome threw her arms around him suddenly, squeezing him painfully and tempering his wounded throat. "Inu-Yasha!" She exclaimed, "I was so worried about you! Are you alright?"  
  
Sango fearfully tugged Kagome back to Earth, as a pain-stricken Inu-Yasha struggled with his injuries. "Oh, um, sorry Inu-Yasha," She muttered with a slight blush.  
  
Miroku looked down on the two happily, while Sango did the same, eyes bright and sparkling with joy. The monk then took Sango's arm lightly, and lifted her up, leading her out of the room quietly. "I think we'd better go find Shippou-chan!" He called, continuing to drag Sango, "I did leave him alone with a girl, and I doubt he's that experienced in that department!" With those words, they were both gone, leaving a perplexed Kagome suddenly alone with ANOTHER dog-demon.  
  
"W-wait a minute!" She shouted, "Miroku! Sango-ch-" She was cut off then, rather suddenly, as she felt a hand closing upon her own; sharp claws prickling her fragile skin.  
  
"Inu...Yasha?" Her voice was full of uncertainty as she slowly turned to face the hanyou again.  
  
"Kagome..." His eyes were filled with strong, conflicting emotions. She shifted underneath his gaze, very aware that the last time he had looked at her like that, he had mistaken her for Kikyo.  
  
"It was you." He dragged himself into a sitting position.  
  
"Inu-Yasha, don't, you'll trouble your wounds..." She placed a hand on his chest, willing him to lie back down. He ignored her.  
  
"It was you, wasn't it?" He gripped her hand a bit tighter.  
  
"Me?"  
  
"Your voice, it was calling me back, I heard you."  
  
She faltered, and bent down, lowering her head in embarrassment; unable to understand why he was bringing this up now. "Oh, well, you could have died, and I..." Her voice trailed off.  
  
"I WOULD have died Kagome. But it was your voice that brought me back." She was very doubtful now. He had never spoken so sincerely to her before, it made her self-conscious, and almost fearful. She was even tempted to end it all by saying something like, "all right, who are you and what have you done with the real Inu-Yasha?" But she bit her tongue with much reluctance.  
  
When she did not speak, Inu-Yasha kept plodding along, tearing her nerves to bits as he sputtered more uncharacteristic poetry.  
  
"Kagome, you mean so much to me..." Her brain backfired, he wasn't really saying... Was he?  
  
"I'm, glad that I mean so much to you too..."  
  
'Cannot compute.' She thought. Kagome had officially blown a fuse.   
  
"This must be right..."  
  
'No, he wouldn't...' Why so fast? Couldn't he do it gradually?  
  
"I think I..."  
  
'Get out of town, he IS serious... Shit.' She tried not to start biting her finger-nails.  
  
"Love you... Kagomehildren of Dune   
  
She just about screamed, nothing made sense....AT ALL. Suddenly she felt very much like a shattered glass. Everything hadn't been making sense, as she had reminded herself often, for the past few days. So it had stopped raining, that was nice, but as soon as one problem was solved, here came another one. At a loss for words, Kagome could only fumble and trip with her speech.  
  
"I, um, Inu-Yasha, I, I, wow..." Still sputtering, she pried herself from the ground and began to back up towards the door. Her face was burning a deep scarlet, she couldn't handle this. Inu-Yasha, meanwhile, seemed both very proud of himself, and very content that she was handling it the way she was. It was as if he had expected her reaction.  
  
With that, Kagome gave a slight moan, and tore out of the room, feeling the tears streaming down her cheeks. She could hear him calling for her, but she paid it no heed. Praying that she wouldn't run into another living being, she ran to the only place in the palace she knew she might be alone. The garden.  
  
"Please let Shippou and Rin be gone...Please, please, please..." Ripping the door open, Kagome bolted inside, panting breathlessly. She crashed through the trees for the second time that day, and collapsed near the secluded pond in the clearing, eternally grateful that the children had cleared out.  
  
"Oh no..." She mumbled. The sun was still smiling down, oblivious to her plight. "Oh no, I can believe I ran out on him, on both of them." For whatever reason, she was counting Sesshomaru in this mess. "I can't.Why is this happening?"  
  
Dimly, she recalled asking a similar question to the darkness only four days ago. But she still hadn't received an answer.  
  
Dismally, Kagome stretched out onto her back and closed her eyes to the sun's rays. The tall grass fanned out across her form, blanketing her partially. She needed o do something to clear her mind, anything.   
  
The sun was so warm and comforting...  
  
Perhaps, if she slept on it...   
  
She half-remembered the frequent and confusing dreams she got when she slept nowadays, but in the end, her desire for a good rest overpowered her desire to stay awake and fend off the nightmares.  
  
It washed over her like a hot bath, and as she looked up at the sun, she say a large cloud cover it up lazily. It was shaped like, Sango's head, and, it was talking to her.  
  
"Listen Kagome-chan," It said. "You should talk to them you know..." She nodded slowly.  
  
"Uh-huh."   
  
Kagome rolled unto her side and looked into the depths of the shadowy trees, all of which happened to be singing Christmas carols, and, they had Santa hats on. "Jingle bells, jingle bells..." They're voices sounded like Inu-Yasha's, and they were singing reluctantly, as if they were sulking about it at the same time.  
  
When she rolled back over to look at the sun again, but something was in the way; a head, but not Sango's. It was, Sesshomaru. "Sesshomaru... You're blocking the sun..." She muttered as she stared up into his unmistakable, burning amber eyes, the only part of him that was visible in the darkness.  
  
'Darkness?' She thought, "Oh wait a minute, it's just nighttime."  
  
"Jingle bells, Jingle bells..."  
  
He still wouldn't move. She felt something underneath her, something like, arms, Sesshomaru's arms, he was lifting her up with one hand beneath her legs, and one near her shoulder blades. "Hey, wait a minute. When did you get your other arm back?" She fixed him with an accusing stare.  
  
"I won't let you die, Kagome."  
  
Kagome blushed and giggled a bit. "But I'm not dying!"   
  
Suddenly, she felt wetness, her shirt was soaked. Had she taken a bath? Carefully, she prodded the fabric with her fingers and lifted them up to her eyes, they were soaked with something dark... Blood.   
  
"What?" She continued to paw about, more frantically this time, searching for the source of the bleeding. Her hand strayed to her throat, and closed upon a massive gash, identical to Inu-Yasha's.   
  
Kagome shrieked in fear, clutching Sesshomaru with her all her might. "What have you done?!" She cried tragically to the yellow eyes. There was only silence.   
  
  
  
He had faded away. There were no longer any arms supporting her, no longer anything around which her hands were clamped. Kagome felt at her throat, and found that there was no wound. Even the eyes above her seemed to be dissolving.  
  
There was only darkness.  
  
"Tenshik..." A voice was calling out in the black sea.  
  
"Who's there?" Kagome asked hesitantly.  
  
"Tenshik..." It was Sesshomaru.  
  
"Sesshomaru!" She called brightly, waving her arms about, as if he might be able to see her. "Sesshomaru, hey, Sesshomaru! Where are you?" She was thankful that someone was here with her.  
  
Kagome stood up then, on what, she couldn't be sure, but she didn't care. She began running, sprinting in whatever direction she could, confident that she would be able to find Sesshomaru somewhere.  
  
Her eyes scanned about, and registered that there was something out there, possibly Sesshomaru. Kagome could see it, it was glowing a faint blue. "Hey!" She called again.  
  
It was coming closer, and closer, there it was, yes, she could almost touch it now. "Sesshomaru!" But when it finally became clear what the thing was, Kagome realized with misery that it was not, in any way, a person.  
  
"It's a mirror..." She mumbled, crestfallen. Still, she stopped and looked it over. It was, indeed glowing blue, and, seemed to be having a bit of trouble producing her reflection. It was moving, like the surface of a lake, shifting about unevenly. Kagome continued to observe this before it settled on a definite shape. Her reflection.  
  
"No..."  
  
It wasn't her reflection at all! It couldn't be, that wasn't her! It looked a little like her, but, how, how could it be?   
  
It was her face but, the skin, it was darker than hers, almost Inu-Yasha's color, and the eyes were, green, not brown. Yes, they were a clear, crisp, green. Then, it hit her. This person, this woman before her trying to pass off as her reflection, had golden hair. It fell past her waist. Golden hair...  
  
"Who are you?" She screamed, and it's mouth moved after her own at the same time, mimicking her movements just as any other reflection would. Kagome, frightened, began moving about, watching as it copied her movements accurately. It even wore the same facial expression of confused fear.  
  
"No! This isn't possible!" She shouted desperately.   
  
With that, Kagome lifted her hand and bound it up in a fist, making to smash through the false mirror and end the nightmare. But when she slammed her hand forward, rather than crashing into the glass, it went through, unharmed, as if the mirror were made of water. Gasping, Kagome felt herself falling forward, and lifted her other hand to protect herself from shards of glass. Yet just like her fist, she fell through like she was diving into water.  
  
When she had passed through entirely, she spun around, deciding that kicking it forcefully might be a better idea, but when she had turned, there was only empty blackness facing her, with no mirror in sight.  
  
Frustrated, Kagome crouched and shoved her head into her hands her long hair billowing out before her.  
  
"Long?" Kagome muttered with a hint of sarcasm. "Oh no..."  
  
Springing back up again, she wrenched a fistful of hair before her face, with a slightly dark hand, anticipating the results, but still anxiously hoping that what she feared wasn't so. "IT'S GOLD!!! WHAT THE HELL?!!!"  
  
"At last, I have found you Tenshik!" Her shouting fit was interrupted as she realized Sesshomaru was standing right in front of her.  
  
"I'm Kagome..."  
  
She began to sob and fell to the ground, "I'm Kagome, Kagome, Kagome, KAGOME!"  
  
"You are Tenshik."  
  
Kagome woke with a start to somebody shaking her violently. She was covered in cold sweat, a regular occurrence now. Not surprisingly, it was Sesshomaru poised above her in the grass, and thinking she was still dreaming, or having a vision, her hands shot up to wrench him down so that his face was inches from her own; holding him by the collar of his clothes.  
  
"I'm Kagome."  
  
Now, while I was away I kept a small journal in which I wrote chapter 6, if I can work fast enough, I'll have it typed and out by today, so watch for it! Hope you liked it! I have done the best that I can. 


	6. Into the Labyrinth

Yeah, chapter 6, mmhmm. Things are going to be explained now; well, sorta. I suppose.   
  
Disclaimer: Oh guess. Do you honestly think that I might own Inu-Yasha? Ha.  
  
Reflection  
  
Chapter 6-Into the Labyrinth  
  
"I'm aware of that," he spat with distaste.  
  
Kagome's eyes, wide with fear and frustration, slowly settled to a calm as she realized with immense relief that her horrible nightmare-vision had finally ended. "Ohh..." Her tense muscles relaxed, and she placed a shaky hand on her forehead. "I-I think that..." An uneasy feeling clung to her, and she felt her world spinning.  
  
Sesshomaru said nothing; observing her quietly . Kagome was an unhealthy pale, and her hair was damply plastered to her head.  
  
After a few moments, he draped an arm across her lithe form, lifted her back from the ground, and began guiding her to the pond, just feet away.  
  
She responded well, giving in to his comforting gesture cooperatively, "Why are you here..?' She mumbled.  
  
"It's my garden," And he helped her bend over the water. In actuality, he had heard her faint screams as she was dreaming while in the hall, and had mistaken her for Rin. But Kagome didn't have the strength to pursue the subject, nor could she, as she was suddenly found herself emptying the contents of her stomach.  
  
Her embarrassment for this in front of the demon lord was only slight, her mind was thinking of other things. Like, for example, why this latest vision had stirred her to such a point that she wanted to throw up.  
  
Fireflies danced across the surface of the pond. Many hours had passed since Kagome had slipped out of consciousness, and night had fallen.   
  
Despite the fact that her bout of sickness had ended, the young girl remained hunched over, trying to regain her composure. Eventually, Kagome began to splash icy handfuls of water onto her face, pausing only to scrub a bit. Sesshomaru only watched.  
  
Her fingers trailed over her face slowly as she swept the last remnants of sleep from her eyes. Suddenly, however, her back straightened quickly, and she stared at the pond in a brief second of shock. "Sesshomaru," she began gently, gaze never leaving the water, "Who is Tenshik?"  
  
It was then Sesshomaru's turn to look surprised, though he still kept up his manner of indifference. "What business is it of yours?"  
  
Kagome merely pointed at the surface with what seemed like a hint of annoyance. "That," She said dryly.  
  
Hesitantly, he moved his stare to the pond, and immediately suppressed a gasp.  
  
"How much you want to bet only you and I can see it?" Kagome was hardly irked. Rather, she was taking it quite nicely; which was hardly believable, because staring back at her in the water where her reflection should have been, was a woman with cascading golden hair.  
  
'Tenshik,' the name echoed in his mind as Sesshomaru looked at the woman he thought had left the earth long ago.  
  
"You gonna tell me or what?" Kagome muttered, eyes unmoving. "Because I think by now I have a right to know."  
  
The demon swallowed and closed his eyes silently. "She and I..." His voice trailed off.  
  
"Yes?" Kagome urged.  
  
"She was my mate." Kagome couldn't pretend that it was a surprise. She had suspected as much , the way the subject of the woman with gold hair had been so fragile the last time she had questioned him.  
  
"Tenshik was a spirit, not in anyway a demon like myself." His hand twisted around the grass. "She was a spirit of the earth and of life."  
  
The brilliant sun had been replaced with the moon many hours ago, and it hung above the two like an omen.  
  
"A demigod," Sesshomaru continued, "She brought light and joy wherever she went." Kagome imagined them for a moment, and wondered how someone as icy and impenetrable could be mate to one so pure. Absently, she was reminded of a moth drawn to a flame.  
  
"I took her to mate, but there were those who opposed us; demons not unlike Naraku who recognized the power that was held between us." His hands clenched tighter. Kagome could just barely make out the dark streaks of blood that flowed from his palm out of the force pressed upon his skin. "The feared that strength, and thus tried to destroy our bond, and they succeeded, even with betrayal bourn of common trickery." His head suddenly shot up to face her and she almost backed away out of instinct.  
  
"In the end, they murdered Tenshik, by any means necessary. By possessing all that she loved and lived for, and turning her world against her." There was a heavy silence, and then: "Tenshik was not a warrior, she didn't have the heart to destroy what she cherished, and she didn't realize the demons and the part they played in it all."  
  
At his next words, Sesshomaru wrenched the grass form its roots forcefully. "I was not at her side when it happened." Kagome could feel his anger, "I managed to reach her, and shatter the spell just as she took her last breaths. When she died, I held her in my arms, That is what you saw."  
  
He seemed to have regained his calm, but Kagome couldn't be sure, so she phrased her next question as delicately as possible. "What did she say to you when she died?"  
  
As if remembering something, a flash of surprise and shock flew across his features, and he made to say something to her, but stopped just as his mouth began to form the words. "You needn't know that." It was a hurried response, so brief and quick that Kagome could see through him easily, he didn't want her to know, it was a matter of importance or privacy, he was keeping it from her.  
  
She shrugged in spite of his secrecy, and moved to the most pressing mystery. Kagome was nearly speechless, she had been profoundly moved by this woman's tragic history, and a touch relieved that she hadn't yet experienced her death in a vision. 'It must have been so horrible...' she thought. But there was still a piece of the puzzle missing, sure it was clearer now, but something remained unanswered.  
  
"Why is she haunting me?" She said it as if Sesshomaru might know, but of course, he was just as confused. His precious, his lost mate, more dear to him than any sword, more dear to him than his own life, why did she return now as a ghostly specter? He was just as troubled by it as Kagome, but he wasn't about to show that to her.  
  
"I shall escort you back to my brother now." He said sharply, choosing to deny her an adequate response to her question altogether.  
  
"Oh no!" Kagome exclaimed, "please don't!"  
  
He fixed her with a stare that obviously urged her to elaborate. Kagome blushed deeply, she knew she wasn't going to enjoy sharing this with him, of all people. "Inu-Yasha sort of said that he... Loved me, which is why I came running here in the first place. I, um, panicked."   
  
Sesshomaru didn't move an inch, "Do you love him?" He asked patiently.  
  
Kagome faded into an even deeper scarlet, "I don't know." Her words were meek and shy, barely audible.  
  
"You will need to speak to him of it."  
  
She nodded, a little taken back by what resembled concern being found in Sesshomaru, "Not tonight."  
  
Neither of them spoke for a few heartbeats, and then: "Come, I will show you to your own room."  
  
Kagome's relief was clearly evident, and she released her breath deeply and slowly as she rose with the demon lord and they walked silently through the shadowy trees. She followed him into the complex halls, and together, they journeyed into the depths of the palace. After a long trek across brightly polished floors, they came to a halt before a particular door. Sesshomaru slid it open, and the entered. Like everything else, it was shrouded in blackness but he managed to lead her to her bed.  
  
"Thanks..." Kagome murmured. Characteristically, Sesshomaru said nothing, and turned to depart. "Goodnight," she called softly to his retreating form.  
  
When she was certain that he had left, Kagome slipped into her futon carefully, and laid her had upon the pillow. Dimly, she amused herself with the thought that her bag was out there somewhere, probably in the garden at the entrance to the castle, where she had absently left it in her haste to see Inu-Yasha. But it was only a passing thing, and she was soon left to stew over the grim situation at hand. Sleep wasn't going to come easy tonight.  
  
  
  
Kagome woke to sunlight falling upon her eyelids; much to early as well, for out of fear of dreaming of Tenshik, Kagome hadn't accepted rest for but a few hours.  
  
Her blurry eyes flicked about her room momentarily, looking around curiously. The sun illuminated her surroundings efficiently, and it was filtered through a large door to her left, which she had mistaken for a wall the night before; it was tough, but transparent. There was a stately wardrobe in a corner and standing tall and formal on the opposite side was a mirror.  
  
She skittered away a bit at the sight of the mirror, suddenly fearful of the looking glass, and not in the least forgetting her most recent vision.  
  
They were the most prominent pieces of the room, although various valuables like pieces of art were scattered about decoratively.  
  
All in all, it was the room of a person that was obviously very wealthy and powerful. 'Well yeah,' Kagome thought, 'It is Sesshomaru.' But then again, the chamber did seem to hold a particular uniqueness.  
  
The girl could only assume that the door which filtered the sunlight led out to a courtyard or something, perhaps like the garden, but near the mirror, there was a second, smaller door.  
  
In the end, curiosity got the better of her again, and Kagome got up to inspect it. Patting down her rumpled uniform, her feet moved softly to the door cross the smooth floor. Her hand grasped the handle, and she pulled back...  
  
...Only to shut it as quickly as possible.  
  
"It's Sesshomaru's room!" She cried. At once, she slumped down onto the floor, panting. Her heart raced as she tried to at least be relieved that Sesshomaru himself hadn't been there when she peeked. In fact, her only hint that it was his room at all was that she had seen the Tensaiga lying neatly in front of her, just a foot to the right of the door.  
  
"Oh hell..." Kagome muttered as she looked up to stare at the ceiling, "It never ends..."  
  
For several hours, Kagome sat sulkily in her room; moving restlessly about now and then, and always trying terribly hard to get a grip on things. She had taken to snooping around her chamber, and contentedly pawed at the furnishings.  
  
After a long search, Kagome ended up discovering five formal kimonos laying neatly in her wardrobe (complete with all necessary accessories of course) that the largest door opened onto the mountains, and another door, which led to a private bathroom.  
  
But this was hardly enough to satisfy her, and Kagome soon found herself becoming increasingly bored, and eager to be released form such confining walls.  
  
"I'm going out." She said decidedly to no one in particular after an hour of lying around. "I'm going out, because I should eat something, yes." She nodded to give the statement more emphasis. Despite being her excuse to step out should anyone ask, it was also true. Kagome had surrendered her stomach to the pond the night before, and even then, she had hardly eaten anything for hours.  
  
So with determined gusto, Kagome gathered herself and stomped to the door; ready to rip it open and charge into the wide world.  
  
But as her hand fell upon the handle, it was torn open for her, revealing Sango bearing a large tray of food.  
  
"Kagome-chan!" She exclaimed happily as she rushed into the room.  
  
"Oh, Sango, um, chan-Why are you here?" Kagome stuttered as Sango brushed past her to set the tray down.  
  
She whirled around suddenly, pulling Kagome into a tight embrace. "Kagome-chan! I was worried, you were gone for hours!  
  
Kagome patted her friend's back comfortingly, "Sorry Sango-chan, I fell asleep I the garden."  
  
"Garden?" Sango peered at her curiously. "All that we heard from Sesshomaru was that he had escorted you to your own room late in the night. Why did you leave Inu-Yasha so early?  
  
Kagome smiled, "Well, I'll fill you in, but," and she cast a hungry glance at the tray of food, "You're going to have to let me have a bit of that, I'm starving!"  
  
"HE WHAT?" Sango shouted, slamming her cup down and sending drops of tea flying.  
  
Kagome had just finished describing the nights' events, leaving bits out about her dream and such like that. She expected Sango would have to have it all explained to her someday, and after witnessing her break-down in the woods, probably really wanted to know, but not until Kagome had figured it all out for herself first.  
  
As of this moment, she had timidly come out with her whole reason for running out to the garden: Inu-Yasha's confession.  
  
"That twit..." Sango growled, "He really doesn't have a clue when it comes to women, does he? Almost as bad as Miroku... Did he have any real emotion in his voice when he said it?"  
  
  
  
"Not much," Kagome giggled, " he actually seemed kind of proud of himself!"  
  
  
  
The two girls laughed over their tea, and Kagome was suddenly very grateful for Sango's consoling presence. It was wonderful to have such a close friend in the feudal era.  
  
"So," Sango chuckled as she settled back down, "Why do you think Sesshomaru put you next door to him, huh?" She was carefully avoiding the subject of Kagome's odd behavior, though questions burned through her skull; Sango could tell that Kagome was shy of it.  
  
"Dunno," she mumbled as she quietly sipped her drink.  
  
Sango nodded, "Will you, go to see Inu-Yasha today?" Kagome froze.  
  
"I think I have to..." Her hand gripped Sango's shoulder suddenly, "But Sango-chan, what am I going to say?" Her eyes were brimming with tears.  
  
"Do you love him?"  
  
"I-I don't know!" Kagome cried despairingly. She buried her head in her hands and sobbed. Truly, it wasn't the fact that she didn't know that troubled her, it was the fact that five or six days ago she knew she would've said yes in a heartbeat. All of a sudden, she just wasn't sure...  
  
"There, there," Sango cooed, "It'll be okay Kagome-chan."  
  
Kagura pressed her fan to her nose in disgust, "The hanyou's blood," she growled.  
  
She was standing rigidly, staring at the obvious scene of a battle: trees were decimated in all directions, scattered like kindling on the wind. Immense craters fanned out in the shape of raking claws, and some still were still smoking faintly. Blood was spattered everywhere and although it was dry, it still held a distinct scent.  
  
"He left such a clean trail, Naraku will be pleased about this." She smiled and leapt into the air, alighting gently on her feathery transport, and scooting into the distance.  
  
Alright kids! That's chapter six! I realize it's a little short, but the last chapter was eleven pages, so cut me some slack. I have lovely surprises in store for chapter seven, so keep reading. 


	7. It Just Gets Better and Better

Well hi everybody! So much for the "update on Mondays" idea. Anyways, this would be chapter seven, and I must say, I never expected to get this far with this fic! It helps to have such kind reviewers. I suppose that's all I have to say for now, so have fun!  
  
Disclaimer: Hmmm... You know what? I'm getting a little tired of saying the same thing over an over again, so why don't you just go to chapter 2 if you want a properly done disclaimer, okay?  
  
Alright, I have a few notes, specifically for Profiler120. Ahem, Profiler120, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR REVIEWING ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm such a fan of Prisoner, My Prisoner! I'm so shy, sorry I never reviewed, but now that I've actually spoken to you through this story, you'll certainly be hearing more from me. Also, I'm sorry you were confused about the scene transaction, I always did a double line to show that kind of thing, a little hard to distinguish though. So I'm going to take your advice use *** to signify things like that from now on. Now, in my other statement, I believe a few of you have said "best Sess/Kag I've ever read," well, I'm flattered but you're mistaken. In my opinion, it's a three-way tie between Disease, by psycho pixie, Ariels (sequel to disease), and Prisoner, My Prisoner by Profiler120. I highly recommend them to anyone and everyone.  
  
Now, on to the story!  
  
***  
  
Reflection  
  
Chapter 7-It Just Gets Better and Better.  
  
***  
  
Sango had held Kagome's head soothingly on her lap for nearly a half an hour while the girl cried her eyes out. She was now sitting rigidly on her legs, gazing at her hands, which were neatly folded over one another.  
  
From her wracking sobs, it was obvious to anyone that Kagome's problem's ran deeper than her love life. Sango was itching to ask her about it, but refrained, lest her friend burst into gushing tears again.  
  
Instead, she reached out and touched the girl's hand lightly, "Kagome-chan," she said softly, breaking her from her trance. "Is there anything I can do?"  
  
After a moment, Kagome looked up the demon-exterminator, and said in a clear voice, "Let's go out."  
  
"Where?"  
  
"Anywhere but Inu-Yasha's room, and the garden." The statement obviously said "no questions asked please," and Sango, being the considerate friend that she was, stayed quiet for at least the hundredth time.  
  
"Alright then, Kagome-chan, let's go." She smiled brightly and stood up, having no idea whatsoever where they would go, but trusting that Kagome knew what she was doing. 'It's best to cooperate with her wishes right now,' she thought.  
  
Kagome got up beside her, and they moved to the door, throwing it back and exiting quietly. The moment that Kagome got out of the room, however, she felt the icy silence of the castle pierce her. It was strange, how there were so few servants scuttling about as they had been when she had first entered. Perhaps it had been the arrival of their lord that had brought on this change.  
  
It was so eerily clean, and cold. Just standing in the vacant hall was like leaving for school on winter morning. The air was crisp, and as she breathed in, it prickled her lungs. It occurred to her, that she might retreat back to her room, and hide inside her bed all day, but Kagome couldn't bring herself to separate herself in such a manner. She had to get out.  
  
"Which way?" Sango asked, interrupting her thoughts.  
  
"What do you mean?"   
  
Sango thrust her hands in opposite directions; each pointing down the length of the hall. "Left or right? We shouldn't go into the rooms, we don't who might be in them."  
  
Kagome nodded, "Left." She said finally, recognizing that the light shown more brightly that way.  
  
"Alright," Sango chirped, slapping, her hands together and putting on a false show of enthusiasm, "Let's go!" She turned and led the way, walking proudly like a soldier. It was amusing, and it made Kagome's heart light to see her friend treating their little jaunt like a terrific adventure. She put a delicate hand to her mouth and gave a silent giggle before she followed after the exterminator.  
  
The wove slowly through the intricate passageways, Kagome always choosing the direction they would go in when they met a fork in their road. Steadily, the sunlight that streamed through the sparsely scattered windows grew brighter, and Kagome slowly realized that she had been yearning, not only to escape her chamber, but to escape the castle itself.   
  
A free creature by nature, she couldn't handle being cooped up for extended periods of time. She needed to breath the fresh air, not in a boxed up garden, not from a balcony, but outside, standing in the wild grass with the wind sifting through her hair.  
  
***  
  
Shadows lurked in the darkness, hidden in the massive forest. They peered anxiously at the mountains before them, growling, twisting, writhing with the anticipation of a battle. But none of them were as impatient as Kagura.  
  
A day and a half hand passed since she had discovered Inu-Yasha's whereabouts. She couldn't wait to drag her fan through his flesh. They were there, the fortress was before them, her was weak.  
  
Her head twitched around and she eyed the demons that had escorted her. They were each very powerful, and would yield a great help in knocking over the castle, but she was suddenly fearful that one of them might go for HER kill.   
  
Kagura met a red demon's gaze, his yellow eyes twirling in his head as his slender, snakelike body curled out behind him. He was incapable of speech, but he would certainly understand her body language as she growled sharply at him, baring her teeth in an animalistic way.  
  
The demon shifted away, and her head snapped around towards the palace again. "Why don't we attack them now?" She complained snappishly to the shadow that sat beside her. Her muscles twitched as she spoke, her hand trembling on her fan.  
  
"Patience Kagura, we must wait for the girl to become most vulnerable to us." The shadow said darkly, it's voice laced with darkness and death. She growled again and lowered her head. It was becoming increasingly difficult to hold herself in check.  
  
It didn't occur to her that Naraku was using her heart against her. That he had inspired this new bloodlust because he held her soul in his grasp. It didn't occur to her that he was fooling her into doing his dirty work either. None of that mattered to Kagura in the heat of the hunt.  
  
Her orders were to kill Inu-Yasha, though most importantly, the girl Kagome. In her passion to destroy him, she would no doubt flick away the girl as an insect; there would be no stopping her, and if she wanted to tackled Inu-Yasha, and his brother, she would need to be inspired with hatred as she was now.  
  
It had sparked his curiosity, this new "truce" between the bitter enemies, but not to a point where Naraku would spare their lives to determine the answer. He had better things to do.  
  
Kagura was not a fool, she wouldn't let the jewel shards slip when her work was done, but should she fail to, he would no doubt acquire them somehow.  
  
There was movement in the vast garden-forest at the base of the mountain. On the stone steps, two women stood. One had dark brown hair, and was dressed in clothing of a common woman, with the exception that she was draped in unusually colorful fabrics; and the other, was a girl with black hair, and odd, outlandish dress. Her name, was Kagome.  
  
Kagura tensed even more so than she had previously and licked her lips. She resembled a hunting dog, crouched low and leaning forward on her heals anxiously, head pointed at the pair straightly. She was ready to spring from the ridge on which her party was perched like the wind that she was, now was the time.  
  
Her eyes flicked to the puppet Naraku beside her and back to her target, begging for the command to attack. The dark orbs stared silently from behind the shroud of baboon hide, observing this obstacle, and in a deep voice, "In your haste to kill the hanyou, remember that your target is the girl. Go."  
  
Like an eager child, Kagura leapt from the hill and swept towards the females; her small army of demons rushing out behind her like a massive cloak. Their shocked faces as they realized what was happening were priceless, Kagura would be on them in a matter of seconds.  
  
***  
  
Sango and Kagome wandered aimlessly down the halls. To Kagome, everything resembled impenetrable concrete. She felt trapped, her heart had never beat for freedom and life more passionately. Every breath she took now felt suffocating, every step she took now felt dizzying. Where was she going? Who was she looking for? She couldn't focus now, not even on Sango's back where she trudged in front of her.  
  
But something was about to happen that would bring it all back into view now. That which the part of her mind that was still awake feared the most. That which her heart trembled at.  
  
Sango stopped at a turn. "Left, right, or straight?" She murmured, enthusiasm lost.  
  
"Left," Kagome mumbled, and they set off.  
  
Not ten paces from the point where Sango had asked her the same mindless question she had asked the whole trip, she stopped abruptly. Kagome stopped as well when the rhythm of Sango's swishing feet ceased. Slowly, she raised her gaze from where it had been resting on her own feet to Sango's face.  
  
"Why've we stopped?"  
  
She didn't answer, but her message was conveyed loudly enough. Her eyes were begging, pleading, twisted in grief and concern, and staring straight ahead. Kagome followed her stare.  
  
Her heart skipped a beat, she trembled and took a step back. The long hours she had spent hiding form this...  
  
'I'm not ready!'  
  
Sango's lips were dry, "Inu-Yasha..." She muttered hoarsely.  
  
The half-demon stood there, white undershirt halfway on his shoulders, attendants and his brother standing in shock around him. Sesshomaru seemed poised to drag Inu-Yasha somewhere, as did a few braver servants, but whatever transaction had been going on between them, they had all stopped in silence the moment Kagome and Sango had arrived on the scene.  
  
Sango berated herself for a moment for not bothering to pay attention to the voices she had heard bickering at least seven turns back. She hadn't been thinking of anything at all, and she knew when she turned to observe the totally shocked Kagome that she had been doing the same thing.  
  
"Kagome..." Inu-Yasha said quietly, his angry features softening.  
  
It clicked in Sango's head. Inu-Yasha must have felt a feeling akin to Kagome's desire to leave her room. But he was out to find her, he wanted to speak to her of what had been said, but obviously, Sesshomaru had protested. 'He really DOESN'T know anything about women.' She thought.  
  
Tears had begun to creep down Kagome's cheeks. She took another step back.  
  
Inu-Yasha countered with a hesitant step towards her. "Kagome, I, don't know what to say..."  
  
"Then don't say anything!" She barked suddenly, voice frail with oncoming sobs.  
  
He faltered, as if hurt, but continued towards her. She backed away even more.  
  
"Don't," It was now a faint whisper, so quiet in her throat.  
  
"Kagome," he said patiently.  
  
Her hands tightened into fists and she struggled with her movements. In a heartbeat, she had tensed as if prepared for a fight, and suddenly shouted, "DON'T SPEAK TO ME!" And with that, she spun around and began to bolt, trying to put as much distance between herself and the half-demon as possible. His brother too, for that matter, who, though she hadn't noticed, wore a vaguely similar expression to that of Inu-Yasha.  
  
She was still wearing her shoes, and they slapped hard against the wood floor, causing a noise that swept throughout the castle as she ran. The tears were flying out behind her now, and she could hear Sango, and perhaps Sesshomaru and Inu-Yasha following.  
  
The light was growing clearer as she ran, maybe she could escape, maybe she could outrun them... Her legs moved like the wind, she had never before run with such speed as this, though she hardly thought of it. Kagome soon became a blur crashing through the halls, her surroundings unfolded before her, and all she could think of was getting out...  
  
Doors loomed before her, there were no other turns in sight, this had to be the way out, she remembered it, it had to be!   
  
Her arms reached out before her and met with the filmy meterial. She threw them aside and stumbled out, letting the fresh air seep into her lungs. Kagome continued to run until she collapsed over a nearby balcony; panting and heaving. To her left, the stone steps of the palace entrance rolled down to the level ground like a river.  
  
Sango was shouting for her, she could hear it. It was Sango, her friend, her companion who had done nothing but help her this whole time. Sango...  
  
"Kagome-chan," she exclaimed as she burst through the doors, "Kagome-chan, Kagome-chan, Kagome-chan!!!" Kagome felt her slender arms fall over her, and she was suddenly content. Like a child with its mother, she leaned into Sango's embrace and wept to her again.  
  
They stood like that for a moment, and she could feel Sango's own tears seeping into her hair, but just as she was regaining the peace she had sought after for the past five days, Kagome saw something out of the corner of her vision. She looked again briefly, and her eyes widened in fear and shock. Sango grew silent, she had seen it too.  
  
A great wave of demons was hurtling toward them, Kagura, daughter of Naraku, at their head.  
  
They were scarcely a quarter of a mile away when Inu-Yasha and Sesshomaru came thundering through the doors, the elder brother supporting his staggering sibling; but in an instant, all signs of weakness were banished as they realized the sudden desperation of what was happening. Their swords were drawn in a heart beat.  
  
Now Kagura was on top of them, the shadow of her army stretching across them, her fan and claws out and ready to kill, her eyes burned with a merciless wrath.  
  
She was feet away, she was going to attack.   
  
She was going to attack Sesshomaru.  
  
Instincts pulsed through her as Kagome suddenly grasped what was going on, her heart pounded wildly, and without pausing to think about it, she sprang from the balcony and threw herself between Sesshomaru and Kagura, standing to face down the Lady of the Wind with arms spread protectively.  
  
  
  
A thought was ringing inside of her head, 'She's here...!'  
  
Kagome knew she wasn't thinking of Kagura. Soft light was growing about her form.  
  
'I'm here!'  
  
***  
  
How do ya like dem apples huh? Lots of good stuff prepared for chapter 8! 


	8. The Soul of the Light

Oh, you all flatter me, I just about fainted when I read all of your reviews. I'm still shaking. Loopey, loopey, loopey, ahh, I feel lighter than air! Thank you all so much!  
  
You know where to look for the disclaimer.  
  
***  
  
Reflection  
  
Chapter 8-The Soul of the Light  
  
***  
  
It spread through her body like poison. Kagome had long since screwed her eyes shut out of fear of the odd, purplish light that had gathered about her. Now, she couldn't open them.  
  
'Am I dead?' She thought fearfully. She struggled to move her limbs, to reach out and touch something, anything, as an anchorage to Earth. Kagome was not ready to die.  
  
Sesshomaru, Kagura, all of them had flown her mind when she realized her plight. Something was attacking her from the inside, it was a change, and it was taking over. She had no idea what could be happening, or how it had begun with her throwing herself before the demon lord like that, an action that had taken her like an alien force all its own, and she couldn't stop it.  
  
Her mind reeled, suddenly bursting with foreign images and sounds she had no recollection of. Kagome saw people from an ancient time decades back, she heard a voice that was not her own, and she heard the dreaded noise of the song that had tortured her.  
  
Something was taking over her body. In an explosive moment, it suddenly hit home with Kagome, and she went from meek, cowering fear, to the wild desperation of a wild animal. She began to fight, to kick and punch the air, but she was only picturing these movements, her arms and legs remained still. Panicking, she tried hard to thrash about, knowing from past experience that possession was far worse than death.  
  
'I don't want to hurt anyone again!'  
  
Kagome began to focus on the faces of her friends, on Shippou, Miroku, Sango, Inu-Yasha, she couldn't hurt them!  
  
Slowly, an energy that was not of her possessor began to course through her veins. She felt it surge through her, and she was filled with hope. Kagome suddenly knew that she could beat this, she was stronger! Her friends were her lifeline, with their support, Kagome knew she could win this battle.  
  
She let herself become calm rather than fearful, and tried very patiently to move. In her mind, she refused to let the invasive thoughts-that-were-not-her-own enter her consciousness; and it was working.  
  
'This is who I am, and I'm staying, thank you very much.' Kagome thought as if speaking to her tormentor directly. And as if in response, she felt like she was gaining some control again.  
  
Gradually, she felt the force that sought to control her receding. She took advantage immediately and fought harder. Her hands began to tremble, her eyelids started to flutter a bit, it was happening, Kagome remained!  
  
'Yes! Yes, yes yes!'  
  
It would end now, and with a last burst of strength Kagome shoved all traces of the poisonous change from her being. She felt herself fall forward, the lasting image of a swirling light before her eyes burned into her mind before she hit the hard ground.  
  
Somehow, however, she felt as if it still stayed with her.  
  
"Kagome!"  
  
***  
  
"Who's speaking?" Kagome mumbled, and she pried her eyes open. She sighed with relief when she saw that she was just where she expected herself to be: lying on the stone entrance way of the palace, looking around at all of her friends.  
  
They returned her stare with one of ultimate shock and confusion. She flipped her head immediately to find Kagura and her demon hoard in the sky, poised for attack, but there were only clouds drifting now.  
  
Kagome hesitantly turned back to the faces of her companions, poised to ask a question, when Miroku, Shippou, Rin, and a fully transformed Kirara came bursting through the entrance doors.  
  
Shippou was clinging to Miroku's shoulder, sputtering names, and Rin was looking around excitedly, obviously not concerned that she was standing next to a giant, and potentially dangerous cat. But when they each saw Kagome, they went totally silent.  
  
Except for Shippou, who had a child's perception of things through and through, "Where's Kagome?" He asked timidly.  
  
Rin was much the same; she pointed at Kagome, wide-eyed and curious, and asked like it was no matter of importance, "Who's that lady?"  
  
Kagome gawked at them all, now just as confused as they were. "What're you talking about?" She ecxclaimed, "I'm Kagome! I'm right here!"  
  
Silence. Miroku was the first to speak after a long pause. He cleared his throat very gentlemanly, and said, "Pardon me, My Lady, but I don't think that could be possible." His eyes twinkled, Sango shot him a menacing look.  
  
"Don't even think about asking her that question," she spat bitterly. She then began to advance upon Kagome, offering her an outstretched hand. "Here, let me help you, um... Miss..."  
  
"KAGOME!" She shouted, scooting away from Sango like she was a disease. "WHAT IS WRONG WITH ALL OF YOU?!"   
  
Sango, looking a little hurt, withdrew, while Inu-Yasha, typically moody, decided to have his say. "Feh," he muttered, "She certainly acts like Kagome."  
  
"Now wait a minute" Sango interrupted, "Maybe we should make sure of this first." She once again walked towards her, and got down on her knees to face her. She fixed Kagome with a sincere stare, and said, "What did I ask you, every time we came to a fork in the road?"  
  
Kagome's frightened features softened, she smiled, "Left or right."  
  
Sango beamed at her, "Correct."  
  
Kagome bent in to embrace her tightly, and Sango hugged back, looking over her shoulder at the rest of her companions, "This is Kagome. I don't know how, but it is."  
  
Kagome lifted her head, stared at all of them, "Why didn't you know?" She asked.  
  
Sesshomaru, who still looked like a mixture of disbelief and shock, stepped towards her. She scowled. "I know that look." Her eyes became narrow slits. "And I know what color my hair is." She sighed. "It's gold isn't it. I look like Tenshik, don't I, Sesshomaru?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Kagome hung her head and stared at the ground for a long time.  
  
"Tenshik?" Rin had voiced the question on everyone's minds. Kagome faced Sango slowly. "I think it's about time, all of you found out why I've been so distant lately."  
  
***  
  
Sango was shaking, and Inu-Yasha look tortured, Miroku was trying his hardest to look thoughtful, and Shippou and Rin were undoubtedly eavesdropping on the conversation they had been denied participation in. Kagome sat uncomfortably close to Sesshomaru, who was looking at everyone with the same cold expression as always.  
  
They were all gathered in a tight circle, in a room that looked as if it had been built strictly for conferences such as these. It had been a smart move of Sesshomaru's to bring them all to the room.  
  
"We don't know why this is happening right now, but we will find out. I'm just sorry I've been keeping from all of you for so long." Kagome said softly after explaining what had truly been happening the last few days.  
  
Sango reach out and touched her hand lightly. "No, no, Kagome-chan, it's all right. We understand."  
  
"No we don't!" Inu-Yasha blurted. His fists were clenched. "Why is Sesshomaru's dead mate haunting Kagome?!" Sesshomaru looked ready to tear him apart, but Kagome put out a hand.  
  
"Let me deal with this," She said calmly, "Inu-Yasha?"  
  
"What?" He scowled at her.  
  
"Osuwari."  
  
He crashed to the ground magnificently, sending a small tremor through the ground.  
  
"Now," she began again, "I want to know that just as much as the rest of you, but, as you can see, we don't know yet." She pointed at her mane of golden hair, which had been tied and the base of her neck to keep from bothering her.  
  
"Kagome probably changed, as Tenshik's reaction to my being in danger." Sesshomaru said quietly.  
  
Kagome nodded, "That's probably true, but then that would mean, wouldn't that mean I have her soul?"  
  
Silence.  
  
"Well then what do we do now?" Miroku asked.  
  
He received no answer.  
  
***  
  
Inu-Yasha had stalked out of the room shortly after the uncomfortable quiet began. He was obviously fuming. Kagome had as a guess as to why, but it seemed utterly ridiculous. 'Could he be jealous?" She thought, and realized that however absurd it might seem, it was just like him.  
  
She was now trying to come to terms with her new change of appearance by discussing it lightly with Sango over a cup of tea. Sango had become her therapist nowadays.  
  
"So, what did happen to Kagura?" She asked.  
  
"Well, you were glowing, and, the light got really bright for a second, and then, the next instant, she was gone, along with all of her demons."  
  
"That's it?" Kagome sputtered, expecting some sort of epic battle while she was in her trance.  
  
  
  
Sango nodded, "Mmhm."  
  
"Well at least there are some perks with this deal." Kagome said, turning her newly tan hand over and over.  
  
  
  
"Pardon me?"  
  
"Never mind."  
  
Sango set her cup down. They were presently back in Kagome's room. It was a just a few hours after the conference. Once Inu-Yasha had stormed out, Sesshomaru had turned to all of them, telling them to return to their rooms, saying that he would look into the matter himself. They had all complied a little reluctantly, but trusted him nonetheless. Kagome had asked if Sango might stay and chat with her, and after a few wrong turns and a helpful run in with a servant on the way, they finally found their way back.  
  
Kagome thought back to their meeting with the vassal. Of course they had stopped for directions, and to send for tea, but the way the servant had treated her was so... Eerie.  
  
The small woman had been the height and build of Keade, and she had long, gray hair tied with a blue sash behind her head.  
  
Her small green eyes had widened considerably at the sight of Kagome, and she had immediately gotten down on her knees and bowed to her. Kagome had stepped back a little, and explained their request.  
  
The woman had nodded many times throughout. She then waited patiently on the ground, however, until Kagome finally caught on and gave the dismissal command. The servant had shuffled away then, arms flailing as she shouted down the halls something in an outlandish tongue that neither Kagome nor Sango could recognize.  
  
Kagome had discerned "Tenshik" from the jumbled noise though.   
  
"Kagome-chan?" Sango asked timidly over her tea.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Are you frightened?"  
  
Kagome froze and stared at her friend for a moment. "What do you mean?"  
  
"I mean," she began, "What if you're stuck like this forever?"  
  
The thought hadn't occurred to Kagome before. What if she WAS stuck looking like Tenshik forever? What would her family say? Would they accept her again? She laughed bitterly, "I think I'll live."  
  
"And, what about Inu-Yasha?"  
  
Another question mark. Kagome was just a little nervous now. "I don't have a clue what to do with him. I can't tell if I should talk to him or not."  
  
"I think you should." Sango said with finality.  
  
Kagome flinched. "And why do you say that?"  
  
"Well, he's very upset. Shouldn't you at least try and be friends with him again?"  
  
She scowled. "We weren't friends in the first place." Even as she said it, Kagome knew it wasn't true. So did Sango.  
  
"Come on now, I saw the way you were looking at him when he had the gash across his throat."  
  
She blushed. "Oh come off it." She playfully shoved Sango a bit, and they laughed happily. Kagome hadn't realized it yet, but this change, whatever had done this to her, it had relieved her mind greatly.  
  
After settling down a bit, Kagome sighed deeply while looking up at the ceiling. "You're right Sango-chan. I hate to admit it, but I have to talk to Inu-Yasha."  
  
***  
  
Kagome and Sango stood in front of Inu-Yasha's door.  
  
Kagome's arms were wrapped around her yellow bag, which she had happily discovered lying in her room when she returned to it. Sango eyed it suspiciously, wondering what Kagome could be planning.  
  
"Do you want me to come with you Kagome-chan?"  
  
She shook her head. "You had better stay clear, he could become violent."  
  
Sango nodded and patted her friend on the shoulder. "Good luck, Kagome-chan." With that, she turned and left. Kagome's eyes remained fixed on the door apprehensively, and after a moment's pause, she drew a deep breath, and balancing her bag on precariously on one arm, rapped on the door.  
  
"Inu-Yasha," she called, "Can I come in?"  
  
She thought she heard a muffled, "feh," and then a bit of scrambling. Presently, the door slid open, and Inu-Yasha's face was scowling at her. "What do you want?"  
  
"Catch." Kagome said shortly, and she threw her bag at him, which he caught deftly, giving her enough time to slip past him.   
  
Surprisingly, his room was very clean, and she had no trouble finding a place to set her luggage down once she had lifted it from Inu-Yasha's grip. Without a word, Kagome began sifting through the contents of her knapsack, pulling out various items now and then.  
  
"What do you think you're do-" He stopped abruptly as Kagome lifted a package of instant noodles from the bag, smiling triumphantly.  
  
He sat down beside her, looking sulky, "I know what you're trying to do."  
  
"You do huh?" She didn't look at him, but began cooking the food over her hot pan in the middle of the room.  
  
"Yes. You're trying to win me over with those noodles. Well it's not going to work." He sniffed a bit and stuck his nose in the air.  
  
"It's not, is it?" Kagome said, and she started to stir the contents of the styrofoam cup slowly. "Well we'll see about that. They say the way quickest way to a man's heart is through his stomach."  
  
He sniffed again. "Is not."  
  
"Is to," she said automatically. "Besides, as I recall, it was only yesterday that you confessed youre love to me. What's changed Inu-Yasha?"  
  
He flinched, and his eyes grew wide.  
  
"Here," she passed the noodles to him, and he took them wordlessly. At first, he just stared at her, but with a sharp glance on her part, he immediately began to eat.  
  
As he ate, Kagome took advantage of the fact that he couldn't speak while stuffing his face. "Now Inu-Yasha, I want you to listen to me for a minute."  
  
  
  
He looked like he was going to say something, but her cold glare willed him otherwise. "This isn't easy to say. But, I don't think this is the time."  
  
He looked confused. Kagome hesitated, "I'm not ready Inu-Yasha. I don't want to spoil our friendship." She twiddled her thumbs, she was saying this all very fast in an effort to get it over with quickly.  
  
Inu-Yasha just about choked on his mouthful of noodles, but she continued. "Please, you're my friend, I care about you, but I can't handle a relationship right now, let alone love!" His face scrunched up, he looked hurt.  
  
"Inu-Yasha, you're my dear, dear, friend. For now, I want it to stay that way." He still looked crushed.  
  
Kagome whimpered, it was like staring down a puppy that had just been kicked. "Oh but don't get me wrong! I mean, maybe someday, it could work out..."  
  
He brightened immediately. Not bothering to finish chewing, he said through his noodles, "Tho yor thaying thare's ah thance!" Kagome paused for a moment to decipher his words, and then began to rush into speech again.  
  
"Oh, well, don't, um, take it too far, you know... Please?" He looked indescribably proud and ambitious, and she couldn't help but laugh.  
  
"What's so funny?" The half demon inquired after he had swallowed.  
  
"Never mind," she giggled, "Let's just be friends for now, okay?"  
  
He folded his arms grudgingly, "Fine."  
  
'Oh great,' Kagome thought, still smiling, 'I've just created another Kouga.'  
  
***  
  
Sango had knocked timidly on the door, and entered with an uneasy look. She had found Inu-Yasha and Kagome sitting just like old pals. Kagome had been stirring some instant noodles, while Inu-Yasha had sat cross legged on the ground, holding one of Kagome's magazines upside down, a few pages scattered like leaves around the room.  
  
Kagome had invited her to sit down, though Sango had looked a little worried. Seeing this, Kagome had reassured her that everything was cleared up, and she relaxed a bit.  
  
Now, after a few minutes of quiet, she decided that conversation might be welcome. Besides, she had been sent for a reason anyway.  
  
"Kagome-chan, Sesshomaru sent me." Inu-Yasha's eyes became visible over the edge of the magazine, Kagome stopped stirring and looked at her friend questioningly.  
  
"He said that tomorrow, you were going to go with him, to visit Tenshik's grave." The hairs stood up on the back of Kagome's neck.   
  
She dropped the spoon with which she had been stirring the pasta, and said in a quavering voice, "What could he possibly think that will solve?"  
  
"He wouldn't let me ask questions."  
  
"Idiot. Never could handle a situation." The hanyou said.  
  
"Must run in the family." Kagome muttered.  
  
"At least my soul isn't constantly being sought after by dead women."  
  
"Zip it dog boy, there's a reason for people not wanting your soul."  
  
"You know, according to this, this thing of yours, this is a ne-ne-gative, environ...ment for me."  
  
"I wasn't aware you could read."  
  
"Better than you can," his eyes peeked back to the magazine, and his mouth twisted into a wicked grin, "dumb blonde."  
  
"OSUWARI!!!"  
  
"#$%@#@$!!!"  
  
***  
  
Ahh... Yeah, that's it. Nine pages, that's pretty good. See ya next time kids!!! 


	9. Oh Yeah Right HA

I feel loved! I feel loved! ^_^ You guys are so nice, I just don't know what to say! And profiler120, you especially have been so sweet! Recommending me like that, oh gosh, I'm all a twitter! Do to a particular complaint, instead of referring to my audience as "kids," you all get to be called DEWDROPS now! That sound good to everybody, INUYASHAFAN13??? I'm in a good mood, let's make some magic!  
  
How coincidental that the chapter happens to start with something that's as scarlet as I am; BLOOD! HA!  
  
Oh, and as a special note, in case anyone would be interested, I picked A song to be THE song. It's hard to find, and it does have L's in it, which wouldn't fit the Japanese language, but as soon as I heard it, I thought that it would work nicely. It's from Children of Dune, because as some of you may know, I'm crazy about that book. Well, you may ask how a book could have music. They made a miniseries out of it. Anyway, the miniseries has a soundtrack, and on the soundtrack is the song, "Inama Nushif," also known as the "Theme Song." I tested it on my friend Kenshin N' Sano lover, and she agreed that it fit nicely. So investigate it if you like, I know some of you were asking about it.  
  
Disclaimer would be a ways back now, but I doubt if you would actually like to take the time and read it. It's pathetic and spiteful, if I do say so myself.  
  
***  
  
Reflection  
  
Chapter 9-Oh Yeah, Right. HA.  
  
***  
  
Kagura thrashed and hissed, her body convulsing as she struggled to support herself. She was wallowing in a shallow pool of her own blood, and she continued to bleed from various wounds, and in a steady stream from the corner of her mouth and eyes.  
  
Naraku observed the mess with obvious distaste, he looked down on his daughter with disapproval, and spoke in a low voice, "Kagura, you have failed me." Scarlet blood began to seep into the edges of his clothing.  
  
She paused in her wild fit to fix a deadly glare on Naraku. "You," she growled menacingly, though it was more of a rasping whisper. "You never said anything about such power. You led me to believe that she was just a human!"  
  
"And she is!" He said shortly, his eyes flashing with what could very possibly be true rage. It was a tone that warned Kagura not to argue. Ready to protest, she opened her mouth and shut it again, still growling and hissing like a snake as she backed down into her puddle, wincing slightly.  
  
"I am ashamed of you, Kagura. You couldn't even kill a mere mortal girl," he continued, Kagura's head shot up again.  
  
"She's not a mere mortal girl!"  
  
"KAGURA!" He snapped, trembling with anger. She went still. A heartbeat passed as she stared fearfully at her superior, considering this new slip of emotion that had risen in him. She had never known him to lose his temper so easily.  
  
He composed himself for a moment, and resumed speaking in a much quieter voice, but with no less potency. "I will give you one last chance. If you fail again, you shall suffer wounds far more painful than the ones you have acquired from the human." He put particular emphasis on the last word, and Kagura made no move to speak up.  
  
"Go."  
  
She fought for her ground, and trembling and bleeding, shuffled away, leaving a distinct trail of inky red blood behind her. She clutched her left shoulder tightly, feeling it gush around her fingers.   
  
The Lady of the Wind snarled at all those she passed, and they hurried away immediately. There was a limp in her step, and she was hardly intimidating, but there was something to be said about being the sole survivor in an attack that had included thousands of Naraku's most worthy demons.  
  
Kagura kept her head bowed as she passed, and gradually, as her hate boiled around Naraku, it was suddenly becoming focused on a different person. 'That hanyou!' She thought heatedly, 'He is the cause of this! He gave me these injuries!' In her mind, she replayed the events of the previous day. It was a memory comprised of sketchy, and unreliable images, but it was all that her now beast like mind needed to animate her rage.  
  
Kagura saw, no, she remembered herself, and her demon army, rushing down upon the girl and her companion, she remembered watching their looks of horror, and she remembered being so close to shredding them with her own claws. But that disgusting hanyou, moments before she could reach the two, HE had come out of nowhere, wielding his sword fang. And the look, on HIS face, how despicable, how gloating, how incredibly proud and confident of his victory. She had wanted to rip that face off of his very skull, but before she could act, he had swung his sword down in the air before them, burning through their bodies easily. On all sides, Kagura had seen her demons dissolve and scatter on the cutting wind. She alone had managed to escape the worst of it in time, and she alone had made it back to Naraku's castle.  
  
'He shall pay for my humiliation...' She thought dangerously. Her mind didn't even capture the thought that the light that had burst from Inu-Yasha's sword had not been the piercing yellow of the Kaze no Kizu, but a radiant purple, hardly visible, and more blinding than colorful.  
  
Her twisted thoughts ended as she stopped before a pair of bare feet. A child's feet, eerily pale. "What do you want Kanna?" She hissed.  
  
"Naraku-sama has requested that I come with you," she said clearly in her lifeless voice.  
  
"Naraku-sama?" Kagura said, the corners of her mouth turning up slightly, "Have you become more respectful to our father now Kanna?"  
  
"He has eyes everywhere Kagura," she replied instantly. Kagura almost looked around the dark hall for a moment, she caught herself.  
  
"I don't need your help." She brushed past the girl and continued on her way, stepping carefully over the skeletons that littered the ground.  
  
Kanna didn't even turn around as she spoke. "How will you fight the hanyou with those wounds? Do you think that Naraku-sama will provide you with help for them?"  
  
Kagura stopped, suddenly more conscious of the blood that still leaked from her body. "You won't even make it out of the front door."  
  
She snarled and turned to watch her sister from over her shoulder. Kagura spat at the ground. "I won't protect you."  
  
"I know." Kanna said confidently.  
  
Kagura turned and resumed her limping walk, now with Kanna walking silently behind her. Together, they faded into the darkness that wafted through the castle.  
  
***   
  
Naraku focused on the small container before him. To manipulate someone was simple for such an experienced puppeteer, but actually training a mind to reconsider an event was a different matter entirely. He admitted that if he didn't have a direct connection with Kagura himself, he probably wouldn't be able to pull it off at all without employing possession, and Kagura was much more deadly when she was a free spirit.  
  
Her heart glowed faintly in it's confinement, and the pulses of it's beating sent small tremors through the floor as it met with it's new rush of hatred.  
  
Satisfied, he withdrew, and moved away to position himself watchfully before the window. She was out there somewhere, Kagome. She was out there, still alive and breathing, and suddenly harboring an incredible power that was lethal enough to even terrorize Kagura.  
  
He knew that Kagura wouldn't be able to match that force in her second attempt, this was obvious, but Kanna could very possibly make all the difference. She was a much more boring minion, but she easily made up for it in intelligence. If dictated properly, nothing would stand between Kanna and her task. Kagome had conquered her before, but he had been too loose with her at that time. Now, under a more forceful guidance, certainly she would be triumphant.  
  
On the shelf to the side, another heart beat fiercely out of step with Kagura's, though more loudly, effectively shaking the very surface on which it rested. Yes, Kanna would do her work well, no doubt.  
  
It was a pity, however, that he would have to destroy this girl so soon. It would be profitable to investigate her new power, and perhaps witness it for himself. He had only Kagura's trembling word to rely upon, and the fact that he had felt it from his position in the mountains, so far away from her at the time. That alone however, was enough to make him more hesitant in this situation, and more curious. But what did it matter? Once Kagome had been swept aside, there would be no need for "profit." Nothing would pose a threat once she had been destroyed.  
  
But no force he had under his control could remove the quiet thought deep in his mind. A thought that warned of a new rival in his future, or an old spirit, awakened for the kill.  
  
***  
  
It felt like flames had been licking her body all through the night. She was sprawled on top of her sheets, panting, and staring at the ceiling with gleaming green eyes. Outside, she could hear the wind swirling through the mountains, but in her room, it was hotter than the depths of hell.  
  
Kagome had long since rolled up the legs and arms of her pajama's, though it did little good. As for her hair, which had proved to be most troublesome, "it" had been forcefully yanked back and twisted into a bun at the base of her neck.  
  
Perhaps it was the thought of accompanying Sesshomaru to Tenshik's grave that delayed her sleep that night. One couldn't deny that the prospect of traveling with that guy, maybe even, alone, could send shivers down anyone's back. That was what had had her biting her lip with anxiety all the way back from Inu-Yasha's room. After leaving the warm company of her friends, she found hanging over her head, the fact that none of them would probably be coming along, that she would have to face something certainly as terrifying as stumbling upon Kikyo's shrine in the middle of the night, with no one to comfort her but an immovable dog-demon.  
  
That was what got her the most. Not even looking down on the death site of what could very well be a second personality frightened her more than being separated from her companions.  
  
What did he see in this in the first place? What could possibly be gained from terrifying her half to death? His own amusement, probably, but honestly, what did Sesshomaru think was going to happen when they stood together on top of his mate's ashes?  
  
Kagome did her best not to dwell on it. It was creepy enough to have it bothering her in the back of her head, she didn't need to be chewing her nails over it in the middle of the night.  
  
She sighed, and turned over. Kagome had the sneaking suspicion that Sesshomaru knew something important that he wasn't telling her about.  
  
Fearfully, she shut her eyes and curled up into a feeble, ball.  
  
At least there was something nice about all of this; her body was now a living spring. Every bit of her flesh was suddenly tight and ready. Her frame had become more willowy, and taught. Each movement Kagome made as fluid as water, yet calculated. It was like Tenshik had spent her entire life in combat, conditioning and training herself for anything and everything. Kagome had complete dominance over all muscles in her body now. She could even move her little toe by itself. It was odd to imagine someone as gentle and lovely as Tenshik prepared for battle, though.  
  
***  
  
The next morning, Kagome's eyes snapped open to sunlight streaming through the sliding door. She sat bolt upright, mind ringing with odd images. All night long she had dreamed of standing before a gigantic stone wall, while different people stood by her side.  
  
First, it had been Inu-Yasha, who had been hitting her on the head with a rolled up magazine, then Rin, who had been throwing flowers on her, then Sango, who had said nothing and done nothing but look sympathetic, then Miroku, who had tried to grope her, then Shippou, who had been talking very fast about...something....  
  
The last two people had bothered her the most. At one point, she had seen Sesshomaru, and he had spoken to her. "You have to go up there," he had said.  
  
Her reply, "I don't want to."  
  
"You must...Tenshik," without another word, his arm had circled swiftly around her waist, bringing her closer to him as he brought his lips down upon her own.  
  
She had protested immediately. It was wrong, she wasn't Tenshik! She wasn't! She was Kagome! But he had withdrawn before she could move. Yet when she looked up to face him angrily, Kagome had met the eyes of a different person...Naraku.  
  
He had given her a sly smile before turning and walking off, leaving a confounded Kagome to stare at the gigantic wall again, terribly confused.  
  
She sat rigidly now. Two many things were disturbing about that dream.  
  
***  
  
"Are you ready to go?" He asked her quietly.  
  
"No," his eyes narrowed, she panicked, "but we might as well leave anyway."  
  
"I shall be expecting you at the entrance shortly. I assume you know where it is."  
  
She blushed, there was something about the way he looked at her now, the way he spoke to her that made her skin crawl. It was too unnatural. "Yes," she said in a meek voice.  
  
He turned, leaving her on the ground as he had found her. She looked so tense and afraid as she sat there like that. It was something he disliked to leave her. But time would not wait.  
  
The door clicked as it was shut. Kagome sighed. It would be a long day, made even longer by the fact that she wouldn't have her friends at her side.  
  
'Come on Kagome, buck up!' She thought with false cheerfulness. She knew very well that there was nothing to be cheerful about.  
  
Somehow, she believed that it would have been far easier for her had he not entered so suddenly like that. Sesshomaru was more unpredictable than she had originally guessed.  
  
***  
  
So sorry to drop you all like that, but Chapter 10 is expected to be...10, 11, 12...15...20 pages long. Whatever the site will allow. But anyway, I had to cut this one short so it wouldn't be even more abrupt to end it in Chapter 10. Once again, sorry, sorry, but let me offer a long, long, long chapter next time as a token of forgiveness. Bye now! Drive safe, DEWDROPS. 


	10. Bargains

Hahahaha! Well, I know all of you have been jumping on me for not updating quick enough, sorry about that, but I've been a touch busy; between teasing inuyashafan13 and helping my sister with her dog walking job, I just haven't found time! As for you, inuyashafan13, well, I don't know if I'll tell you if I'm a kid or not, I'll probably just keep you guessing, but I will tell you why I refer to my audience as children most of the time: a good majority of them ACT like kids. Think about it, we're all insane here. Oh, and before we begin, "osuwari" has been replaced with, "sit" because it works nicely with what I have written. Also, my spell checker is kind of out a whack, so if it has screwed anything up, ignore it. So here we go, another fun-filled chapter!  
  
***  
  
Reflection  
  
Chapter 10-Bargains  
  
***  
  
Her feet landed heavily on the floor. In the east, the sun had barely peeked over the horizon. Kagome released a slow breath, and tried to whistle something comforting as she walked solemnly towards the entrance of the castle.  
  
A voice from her side stopped her, "Kagome-sama?"  
  
She turned around slowly, "oh, hi, Miroku." She smiled weakly. Kagome had hoped not to encounter any of her friends on the way to the door.  
  
Miroku stepped towards her, closing the door to his room behind him, "Kagome-sama, you look as if you're going to be executed."  
  
"Yeah, well, sort of. I guess you could say that," she stared at the ground gloomily.  
  
Miroku looked her over for a moment, "Why do you have your bag?"  
  
That was right, he probably hadn't heard about her little trip yet. She locked eyes with him, "I'm going away for a bit."  
  
"To your time?"  
  
"No." Although she wished she was.  
  
"May I ask where then?"  
  
She scowled, "Why don't you talk to Sango about it."  
  
"Talk to me about what Kagome-chan?" Kagome straightened, and turned around. Sango was smiling brightly at her with Kirara purring on her shoulder. She craned her neck and looked over the exterminator. Inu-Yasha was standing behind her, and Shippou. Sango was dressed over in battle costume, with her boomerang-weapon swung over her shoulder. At Inu-Yasha's side, the Tetsusaiga hung readily. They looked ready to depart for something.  
  
She hesitated, "Why are you all here?"  
  
"Feh, we're coming with you, of course," Inu-Yasha spat. Romantic illusions apparently gone for the moment, he had returned to his typical sulky attitude.  
  
Kagome gawked, "What?"  
  
"Indeed," Miroku said from behind her.  
  
Inu-Yasha gave Sango a stern look, "Did you forget to tell the monk?" He asked accusingly.  
  
Sango touched her mouth with her hand lightly in surprise, sinking into a blushing face of shame, "I suppose I did..." She mumbled.  
  
"Tell me what?" Miroku asked innocently.  
  
Sango looked ready to explain, but Inu-Yasha held her back, "We're going to go visit the dead girl's grave." He pointed a thumb at Kagome.  
  
Kagome's eyes narrowed, Miroku's mouth formed an "O."  
  
"Will you quit saying that!" Sango barked.  
  
"Saying what?!"  
  
"You know what!"  
  
"Alright, stop, stop, stop," Kagome waved her hands in a halting signal, and their voices became silent. "Okay now," she continued, "First off, Inu-Yasha, you can sit now."  
  
There was a loud crash and Inu-Yasha began to curse. Kagome ignored it. "Second, just who said you were coming with me?"  
  
"W-well, don't you want us to come, Kagome-chan?" Sango asked softly.  
  
"Of course I do! I just thought that, when you said 'Sesshomaru's taking you to Tenshik's grave,' well, I just assumed..."  
  
"And I meant it," a smooth voice said from beyond the next corner, and Sesshomaru emerged, looking irritated.  
  
Shippou hid behind Sango's leg, while Inu-Yasha wrenched his head from the floor and began to protest. "I'm not leaving you alone with...Kagome!"  
  
Kagome sighed, for a moment it had seemed like Inu-Yasha was going to say, "my Kagome," and that would have been too much. Sesshomaru obviously had other things in mind, though. He observed his brother quietly, and said in a dangerous voice, "and what do you think I would do with her?" With particular emphasis on the word "her," like it was some sort of germ.  
  
She jumped, thinking, 'hey!'  
  
The hanyou's face scrunched up, and he paused in hard thought, "Well..." he finally concluded, "I'm not taking the risk! So I'm coming with you!"  
  
"I forbid it."  
  
He leapt to his feet, Inu-Yasha had had it now. Sango gently put a hand on her forehead and looked at the floor, while Inu-Yasha began fuming. "Sesshomaru!" He shouted, "You have no control over me! Now read my lips! I-am-coming-with-you-because-she-is-my-"  
  
Kagome perked up and stared fixedly at him, 'Don't say it!'  
  
"WOMAN!!!"  
  
Shippou gaped, and gave Inu-Yasha an unbelieving stare. Miroku smiled oddly and looked ready to clap. Sango merely turned around and stared at the opposite wall. Sesshomaru didn't bat an eye, but Kagome went berserk.  
  
"INU-YASHA!" She stomped over to him and he turned sharply around.  
  
"WHAT?"  
  
She grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and wrenched him forward so that their noses were inches apart.  
  
"YOU ARE SUCH A KOUGA!"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"SIT!"  
  
He slammed to the floor, and a roll of thunder echoed through the halls. Servants who were busy doing false tasks around the gathering immediately stopped eavesdropping and scuttled away. A few birds in the nearby forest hurried into flight.  
  
Kagome panted with anger where she stood. She sniffed, and spun on her heel, bag hanging off one shoulder. Sesshomaru followed her with cold eyes as she approached. "We are leaving NOW," She huffed. He nodded, eyes narrowing with possible amusement, and followed her as she stalked off towards the exit.  
  
As they were leaving, Sango peeked over her shoulder, while a chuckling Miroku crossed over to Inu-Yasha's twitching form and began hoisting him up to his feet. "Shut the hell up Miroku," the half-demon muttered.  
  
"That was brilliant Inu-Yasha. Not even I have had the honor to be treated thus by a lady."  
  
"I said shut up."  
  
"You're in no position to talk right now Inu-Yasha! Now hurry, both of you, or we'll miss them!" Sango snapped.  
  
She walked away in the direction Kagome and Sesshomaru had left in, Miroku following with Inu-Yasha.  
  
The monk continued to laugh quietly.  
  
"You, know, you always could have asked for advice Inu-Yasha."  
  
"Do you WANT to die?"  
  
***  
  
The doors of the entrance loomed closer as they walked in silence. Sesshomaru stopped inches from them. "I assume you would not like me to carry you myself."  
  
"What?" Kagome gasped, "No! Why? Is it very far away?"  
  
"Yes. I expected such an answer," he shoved the odd, double doors back easily, "And therefore I arranged a different transport." Early sunlight flooded into the dark hall, and revealed a pale world, and the stone steps, where to the right, a very large beast was standing proudly on the balcony she had made her transformation on.  
  
"WHAT IS THAT?" She had seen it before, but it was a frighteningly unusual creature nonetheless.  
  
He didn't dignify her with an answer, but comfortably walked towards it, and even extended a hand to give it time to recognize his scent. "Rin refers to it as Aun."  
  
She didn't move. The two heads of the dragon thing wavered in the air as they regarded her, sniffing and making low bleats. Their heavy breaths rasped out in great clouds of hot air. Kagome couldn't help but wonder what kind of teeth were hidden inside it's massive jaws. "Come here," Sesshomaru said stiffly.  
  
She stumbled hesitantly towards it, never removing her eyes from it's twin heads as they never removed their gaze from her. Kagome got within a foot of Sesshomaru, and it puffed an exceptionally large breath and moaned loudly. She yelped, and jumped to his side, hiding behind his back while clutching his shirt with small hands. "A-are you sure it's safe?" She whispered.  
  
Once again, Sesshomaru didn't answer. He stepped out of her grasp and slid onto Aun's saddle. Kagome was rooted to the spot, but one head moved towards her, and she snapped to attention, crying out again and scrambling up.  
  
She sat, shivering, while Sesshomaru grasped the reins tightly. "Hold on."  
  
Kagome blushed, "what?" But she wasn't given time to think about "where." There was a snap, and Aun took off into the air. She rocked backwards, and would certainly have slipped off had she not wrapped her arms around his waist at just the right moment, wrenching herself forward and slamming her face into his hair.  
  
She blushed even deeper. Long strands of silvery white hair drifted into her vision, and streamed around her, swaying gently; Kagome was enveloped.  
  
Clouds parted as they rocketed forward into the air. Eventually, their speed slowed, and they were left to cruise smoothly above a milky sea. She gasped, "this is beautiful... But, why are we so high?"  
  
"We should not risk being seen by Naraku at this time," he said shortly.  
  
"Oh..."  
  
She sighed deeply, remembering that she hadn't gotten much sleep. It was strangely comfortable up here. Kagome observed her surroundings for a few minutes. Her hair band snapped loose, and a rippling expanse of golden hair flew around her.  
  
Kagome yawned, "Sesshomaru... If I fall asleep, don't let me fall off, okay?"  
  
For the third time that morning, he met her question with silence. But she was suddenly too tired to pursue him about it. However, as she began drifting into sleep, Kagome could have sworn she felt him lean backward into her a bit, almost, protectively.  
  
Her eyelids drooped, and the last image her mind captured before she fell out of consciousness was their hair, flowing together like a single mane.  
  
'Silver and gold...'  
  
***  
  
"It's this stone wall again." She stared up at it. "I...don't...want to go...up...there..."  
  
A voice echoed in her mind, a silent command. She heard it muffled, as if it were coming to her through water, "You have to."  
  
"Please," she began to cry, and her tears drifted upward and disappeared. "Don't make me."  
  
Her hair was cast in the current, and the ground suddenly faded beneath her feet. She began to drift downward into the dark abyss. Her hands extended towards the stone wall, but she didn't move. Not at all. She was like a doll, suddenly struck frozen.  
  
Not even her eyes moved; she looked lifeless, as she stared without seeing at the receding surface before her. A light was shining faintly through the dark water, illuminating her form.  
  
"Please don't let me fall."  
  
"Then climb..."  
  
***  
  
Kagome's eyes burst open, and she found herself pressed hard into Sesshomaru's back. She lifted her head slowly, and looked around. Aun was still sailing over the clouds.  
  
She turned around, and saw Kirara flying behind them, Sango at the front, with Miroku, and Inu-Yasha sandwiched between them. Shippou was on Miroku's shoulder. Sango waved and shouted at her, "hello Kagome-chan!"  
  
Kagome waved back with a small smile, saying softly, "hi...!"  
  
She shifted back to her original position, "Sesshomaru, are we anywhere close?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"I must have been out for a long time, the sun's setting."  
  
"Several hours."  
  
Kagome sighed, and glanced back at her friends. Inu-Yasha was staring at her. She flipped back around again.  
  
"You talk in your sleep." Sesshomaru said quietly.  
  
A wave of embarrassment washed over her. "W-what did I say."  
  
"You told me not to let you fall."  
  
Relief replaced her embarrassment, "and you didn't, thank you."  
  
"Tenshik talked in her sleep often, before her death." His voice adopted a distant tone again.  
  
"She did?"  
  
He nodded, "she didn't sleep much then, and was more and more often by my side. I think that she was afraid for me."  
  
There was a moment of silence.  
  
"But...What does it mean now?"  
  
He was stiff, "I don't know. We shall see."  
  
"Um...Sesshomaru, what do you think will happen when we reach her grave?" It was the question that had been tearing at her mind for a while now.  
  
"I shall explain it to you when we reach it."  
  
"Alright..." She sank down in disappointment.  
  
***  
  
Kanna was standing still, on the hill that overlooked Sesshomaru's mountain palace. The wind blew, but neither her hair, nor her clothing stirred with it. She was like a ghost, a lone pale figure with a fathomless and empty heart that existed only as an element that could control her. Kagura had no doubt that Kanna wouldn't have hesitated to destroy her heart if she still had it. It was dangerous to her as it was, and she really had no use for it. A heart was an accessory for a soul, and that was something that Kanna had never known, and would never know, even as she absorbed countless numbers of them with her mirror.  
  
It was odd, and disputable that Kanna was an offspring of Naraku's. She could act like him, resemble him, and copy him in every gesture and thought, but she could never feel like him, and that was the major flaw in her being. Kanna could never understand Naraku, and he could never understand her. They didn't share a common ground in that respect, and so she was more like an alien thing that he had expelled from his body, like a dead and cold mass that he had gotten rid of, and in the process, discovered her usefulness. Kanna didn't actually match any part of Naraku.  
  
Kagura watched her from the shadows. She was leaning against a tree while her sister studied what had happened when she had been attacked by the Kagome witch. Kanna had far finer spiritual abilities than Kagura could hope for, and could easily test and probe for certain energies and determine their owners. Right now, she was searching for the aura of the force that had wounded her sister. She wasn't sure if it was Kagome or not, nor did she have an opinion, but it was important to discover who it belonged to all the same.  
  
It was a challenge this time. A great mystery lay before her, invisible to the naked eye. Inu-Yasha experienced something of the like as he watched the clashing forces in preparation for his Kaze no Kizu attack, but Kanna recognized them differently, she felt them and saw them at the same time. Inu-Yasha smelled them and saw them at the same time. Scent was wonderful for a half-dog demon. Kanna didn't have his powerful nose, she had to seek her answers with her mind and body.  
  
"There are two..." she said in her same, droning tone, "and one."  
  
"Three?" Kagura said from her post in the darkness.  
  
"No." There was a long silence, "There are two in one. It is the same force, and yet it is two at battle. It is combat and it is peace."  
  
Kagura had never know her emotionless sister to speak so poetically, "do not speak in riddles, Kanna."  
  
"I do not, Kagura. You do not understand."  
  
Kagura flinched at the finality of Kanna's voice. Kanna did not lie, and this of course insulted her, "Hold your tongue Kanna, I understand perfectly."  
  
"Do not presume to talk to me like that. I may not look it, but I am still your elder, Kagura."  
  
Kagura was silent for a moment, and then snapped back to attention, "explain to me what is going on."  
  
"Kagome holds an alien power inside of her. It is very strong."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Kagura, what attacked you was not Kagome. It was something else, that Kagome keeps."  
  
"Could it have been the sacred jewel?"  
  
"It does not respond to Kagome like that. The sacred jewel resonates with no one."  
  
  
  
"What then?"  
  
"I do not know."  
  
  
  
"Possession?"  
  
"Possibly."  
  
All was still. "What do we do then?" Kagura asked quietly.  
  
"It is obvious."  
  
Kanna had inflamed Kagura's temper once again, and she spat back bitterly, "tell me."  
  
Kanna gestured to her mirror. "Possession is a very real answer, Kagura."  
  
"And?"  
  
"Possession is most often the control of a soul, with a soul. You of all people should know that."  
  
Kagura ignored the last part of her sister's comment, and probed further, "so what's that got to do with it?"  
  
"A soul Kagura."  
  
Kagura straightened suddenly, realization striking, "you would absorb that power? The soul?"  
  
"It is the only way."  
  
"It is too powerful! You'll never be able to capture it!"  
  
"I can try."  
  
"Kanna! Even if you manage to 'try' and seal it, what if the girl's soul is tied to it! You're mirror will shatter!"  
  
"That is not important."  
  
"It is important! You shall be defenseless if your mirror breaks!"  
  
"I have many other defenses Kagura."  
  
"I will not-" Kagura faltered and stumbled, panting and clutching her breast in pain. She gasped and heaved, suddenly weak and lame. Her feud with Kanna was forgotten.   
  
"Are you dying, Kagura?" Kanna watched her sister out of the corner of her eye.  
  
"There, there is pain...Why doesn't it fade? I should have healed myself by now, even without your help," she wheezed.  
  
"I do not know why it does not fade Kagura."  
  
"Kanna..." Kagura's vision began to blur, "How."  
  
Kagura watched the little figure sharply. Kanna didn't lie, but it was obvious when she was hiding something. In this case, Kagura could see that her sister knew something of the origin of her pain, or how to relieve it.  
  
"The Shikon-no-Tama." Her voice dribbled form her lips in the whiny high it always came in. It was a buzzing wasp to Kagura. She hated it, and she hated Kanna, and she hated it when she missed something so clear.  
  
"You have a shard."  
  
"Yes."  
  
The childlike demon crossed over to her sister. Kanna's right had left the mirror, and reached into her robe for a moment, leaving in a fist surrounded by soft purple-pink light. She extended it to Kagura, and her fingers unfolded, revealing a brilliant piece of crystal, the Shikon Jewel.  
  
"Why are you doing this." It was a statement more than a question.  
  
"You need it to survive, I agreed to accompany you. How can I do that if you are dead."  
  
Kagura smiled wickedly, "You think I will help you. You don't need it."  
  
"I need it Kagura, and I know you will."  
  
"I'm not that predictable!" Kagura turned away from the shard and began fighting to stand properly again.  
  
"What are you willing to do to survive?"  
  
"Anything that I must."  
  
"You need this shard. If you will not accept it willingly, then I shall explain it to you differently. If you help me, I will give it to you, if you refuse to help me, then I will not."  
  
Kagura smiled even wider, eyes flashing, "You healed my wounds only partially when we left the castle. You planned this! You lured me away enough to put me in this position!"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"What do you want to accomplish?"  
  
"Naraku controls me Kagura. I obey because I have no choice. So do you."  
  
Kagura went still. He had done this! He had manipulated Kanna who had in turn manipulated her! Why? She glanced at the shard. But she had no choice now, she would die. Her hand reached to the shard, and her fingers shifted around it. It burned in her palm.  
  
"Place it in you deepest wound," Kanna said.  
  
Kagura held her breath for a moment, and shoved the shard deeply into her chest, where a long gash extended from her left shoulder to the tip of her right rib. It took effect immediately. A warmth spread through her flesh, and she felt renewed strength course through her.  
  
"Now, we must depart. They have already left."  
  
***  
  
Naraku smiled. It was all in order. Kagura was definitely more useful as a free spirit. She had to have taken the Shikon shard of her own will, or her body would not have accepted it. Had he offered it to her himself, she would never have followed through, no matter what the circumstances. Kanna had been his only option. Kagura stilled half-trusted Kanna.  
  
Yes, all was set up now. Kagura had the will to continue to pursue Kagome's group because of her still-present blinding need to eliminate Inu-Yasha. Now, she had a surging strength, and while she removed the hanyou, she would ensure that Kanna would not fail in her task of eliminating the girl. It was perfect. They could not fail.  
  
Thunder clashed overhead. Absently, he thought of Kikyo as he stared distantly through his window. It was strange, if Kagura had truly seen such a terrible power in the girl Kagome, surely her soul would have been touched as well. Why hadn't she acted yet?  
  
***  
  
Well shoot, you know I really wanted to add more, but I don't think it'll let me. Oh well. Eleven pages will work. Bye now dewdrops! Next chapter will be out some time in the next week or so! 


	11. Pardon Me While I Start Banging My Head ...

Hi there! Well, things have let up, as so many of you wise people have predicted, so, I'm going to take that little notice off my story, as it's not really a chapter anyway. Okay now, so I've just read a story, that has four chapters, and it's already gotten 123 reviews. That's amazing. Ahem. Hint hint. Anyway, I'm here with the real chapter 11, and I'm terribly sorry to have kept you all waiting so long. By popular demand, yes indeedy, the grave is in this chapter. Like oh my god, I'm totally for real. So go knock yourselves out you precious little dewdrops!  
  
Oh, and I'd like to recommend a few stories, Prisoner, My Prisoner, by profiler120, Disease, by psycho pixie, and Ariels, by psycho pixie, sequel to Disease.  
  
***  
  
Reflection  
  
Chapter 11-Pardon Me While I Start Banging My Head Against This Wall  
  
***  
  
Kagome rolled onto her side and glared at the stars wordlessly. What Sesshomaru had considered as "close" was actually several hours away from their destination. As the day faded into darkness, Sango had eventually pulled up next to them on Kirara, and proposed the idea that they rest for the night.  
  
Sesshomaru had reluctantly followed her down into a forest, and they had all turned in for the night. Except for Kagome. While the others were gathered around her, some sitting up with their swords clutched to them, some tucked under covers with friends curled into fuzzy balls in their arms, some sitting far too close to the ladies, she wasn't getting any shut-eye at all.  
  
Perhaps it was the fact that she would be visiting a grave the next day, or because she was showing signs of possession, but the most probable reason was that Sesshomaru had determinedly settled in a tree for the night, on watch. She winced, knowing that there was a distinct possibility of those cold yellow eyes being focused on her at that very moment.  
  
Kagome knew that he realized she was still awake. What with her constant thrashing and sighs and what not, it was easy to tell. The fact that they both knew that the other was conscious and they weren't doing anything that would suggest it made her extremely uncomfortable.  
  
In a vain effort to take her mind off of the thought, Kagome was now staring fixedly at the radiant night sky, made even more beautiful by the glistening leaves of the forest canopy fanning across it. The moon, now waning into a thick crescent, beamed down at her, surrounded by stars.  
  
Kagome stared at it and stared at it, growing less observant of her situation with Sesshomaru by the moment, and becoming totally enamored of the loveliness. She was smiling, just feeling the earliest signs of sleep when a thought struck her.  
  
All sleep was banished, when what had been the harmless effect of a fancy had shot her through. 'I wonder what the moon looks like, from back home...'  
  
Tears sprang to her eyes, and began rolling down her cheeks. The moon seemed to disappear in front of her, replaced by images of friends family...'Even school!' She thought tragically, 'oh god, when did I ever become so homesick that I missed SCHOOL?'  
  
The hot water nursed her skin as it coursed down her face. She had cried many, many times lately, but this was the first in a while, that she had actually cried for herself. This wasn't Tenshik, this wasn't her obsessing over boy-troubles, this was just Kagome. It was Kagome, and she wanted to go home.  
  
"Why do you weep?"  
  
The voice smashed her train of thought, and Kagome snapped back to reality. She flipped back over, and sat up, searching for the source before she saw the eery eyes looking at her from out of a tree.  
  
"You know you're eyes are glow-in-the-dark?" She said off handedly, still gawking at the unnerving sight.  
  
"I asked you a question."  
  
Kagome wiped at her eyes with a sleeve and hugged her knees, resting her chin on top of them. "Well geez," she sniffed, "isn't it obvious? Wouldn't you be upset if you were having an identity crisis?"  
  
Sesshomaru replied quickly, "Don't lie to me."  
  
She shivered at his tone, and said in a much quieter voice, "I guess I'm just a little homesick."  
  
There was a silence, Shippou stretched in his sleep and wriggled closer to Sango and Kirara.  
  
"Why?"  
  
She jumped in surprise, royally miffed, "What do you mean why? I'm really far from home here, I miss my family! Wouldn't you miss family too?"  
  
More silence, "I don't think I need to point out that Inu-Yasha is the only family I have left."  
  
  
  
Kagome blinked in surprise and raised her head to look at him, "Really?" She couldn't imagine it.  
  
"Yes." He was short with her, an obvious sign that he didn't want to discuss it, but she wasn't paying attention.  
  
"Wow, I know that you're dad died, but...What about your mother?"  
  
He faced her with piercing stare.  
  
  
  
"Oh, Sesshomaru, I'm sorry..."  
  
"Don't be." He quipped, "I didn't even know her."  
  
She gasped, "You didn't know your own mother?"  
  
"No."  
  
Kagome felt herself weeping again.  
  
He watched her silently, "You should sleep."  
  
She shook her head, "I can't," she whispered.  
  
He didn't respond, and Kagome sat in uncomfortable quiet. She looked up at the stars again, and slithered out of the plush comfort of her sleeping bag. "Sesshomaru, I'm going for a walk."  
  
  
  
He followed her with his eyes as she stood up. "No you are not."  
  
  
  
She kept her head bowed, trying to hide her freshest tears from him, "Yes I am."  
  
"No."  
  
Sesshomaru suddenly leapt from the branches of his tree, landing smoothly in front of her. Not expecting this, Kagome hesitantly lifted her head slowly, eyes moving from the middle of his chest to his face. Confidence gradually flowing back into her, she said in a feirce whisper, trying to forget her sadness and sympathy for him, "Listen, it's none of your business what I do, and do not do, so let. Me. Walk."  
  
He replied in a low voice, "I will not allow you to wander in a forest alone at night."  
  
Kagome scowled, eyes narrowing to small, irritated slits, "You know Sesshomaru," she said dangerously, "I can't help but notice that a week and a half ago you wouldn't have cared one way or another."  
  
Sesshomaru's eyes grew fiery for a moment, and without a word, he tugged her sharply by the arm and stalked off with into the trees. "What are you doing?" She spat in the same sharp whisper.  
  
"You wanted to go for a walk, we are walking," he hissed.  
  
"I want to go alone!"  
  
"I will not let you. You walk with me, or not at all."  
  
"Why are you doing this?!"  
  
He spun around sharply, and shoved her suddenly against the back of the nearest tree. It was a violent gesture, but performed carefully with just enough force that it only scared her a bit. His face came close to hers. "You have the physical appearance of the only person I could ever love. Is it so wrong that I care about your safety?"  
  
With that, he turned back around, not speaking, but standing rigid. Kagome eased herself from the back of the tree, glaring daggers at his back, "But Sesshomaru," she spat, "that's almost human."  
  
He looked at her over his shoulder, focused with hate. He looked as if he could have hit her then, but calmed suddenly, shutting his eyes, "Let me ask you something, human. You seem beside yourself in all things, what would you have done?"  
  
She went still, remembering how she had been weeping over her loved ones a moment ago; Kagome knew she would have done the same thing, and she was struck with regret. But he continued, "Or if that is not enough because you are human, what would my brother have done?"  
  
And then she remembered Kikyo. She remembered how Inu-Yasha had been bound to her in the beginning, because of her likeness to Kikyo. Or how he had risked himself so many times, for Kikyo.  
  
Kagome was speechless, and then she breathed in a gasping cry, "Sesshomaru I'm so sorry, I never thought-"  
  
"That's right, you never think. I am going back now, and you are coming with me." He said it with such finality that she knew it was totally unquestionable. Kagome nodded, and followed him.  
  
***  
  
The rest of the night passed in uncomfortable silence. Kagome rested on her side, still at a loss for sleep. Sesshomaru was purposefully looking away from her, though every so often, Kagome would see his two yellow eyes staring at her from the partial shroud of leaves, a strange look of painful sadness in the demon lord's eyes. Kagome had determinedly filed these strange stares under the hallucinations of her dreams.  
  
***  
  
"Kagome-chan, Kagome-chan, wake up!" Sango was gently shaking Kagome awake. She moaned and her eyes fluttered open. Pale morning light was spilling through the treetops. Very pale.  
  
She sat up, Sango was sitting next to her, "How early is it?" She asked in a voice that indicated that she was still half-asleep.  
  
"Very."  
  
"Why are we up?"  
  
"Sesshomaru wants us to leave now, I think that he would like to spend the greater part of the day at...the grave," Sango replied hesitantly, "Now come have some breakfast."  
  
Kagome pushed her covers aside and stretched, "That's alright Sango-chan, I'm really not hungry."  
  
The exterminator protested, "Now Kagome-chan, you really should eat, you have a big day ahead of you."  
  
Kagome looked her in the eye and sighed, "Yes, fine, but really, what is it with you and making me eat? I won't starve you know."  
  
Sango laughed softly, "I know, but I just think you need the energy, you do a lot around here Kagome-chan."  
  
Kagome smiled at her and Joined Sango by the small fire she had created, where a small cooking pot was hanging over it, it's contents bubbling. Sango spooned some into a bowl, and offered it to Kagome. While she drank, Sango spoke to her in a low, and quiet voice. "Kagome-chan."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"I heard you and Sesshomaru come out of the woods." Kagome put the bowl down, "He has seemed more irritable than usual this morning, did, something happen, last night?"  
  
Kagome was silent, staring at the food she had cupped in her hands. "You don't have to answer," Sango suddenly said in a hurry, "I just, you know, I just want you to know that you can tell me if you want to."  
  
"Nothing happened Sango it's alright, we...just had a misunderstanding."  
  
Now Sango was quiet, "I see."  
  
"But Sango," Kagome began again.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Do you...think that you could ride with him today, please? I know Inuyasha won't do it, and I don't think that we should be..."  
  
"I'll do it Kagome-chan."  
  
"Thank you Sango-chan, you're a good friend."  
  
***  
  
Sesshomaru made no move to protest when Sango climbed onto the back of Aun. He did, however, protest when Miroku did as well, and Shippou.  
  
Miroku, however, had simply said that he should be there to protect Sango, should she be in any danger of slipping off. There was falseness in his voice, though, and Sesshomaru knew it. But as if a secret code had been passed between them, he had changed his mind quickly and allowed Miroku to ride with him without another word. Shippou came along, out of, what looked like, fear.  
  
Kagome, meanwhile, wasn't too particularly pleased that she would be riding on Kirara with Inu-Yasha, alone. She had uneasily wrapped her arms around his waist, which she was sure he enjoyed.  
  
Gliding above the clouds now, she was totally apprehensive about the situation. He was the first to speak, as she had thought. "Kagome, I wanted us to travel alone today, for a reason. I want you to know, that I do not love Kikyo any more, I don't think I did, from the first time I met you."  
  
She nearly winced when he said those words, dreading them, and knowing they would come. She couldn't respond.  
  
"I meant what I said, when I told you that I loved you."  
  
Kagome shut her eyes, "Please don't hate me for this, but I can't talk about that right now Inu-Yasha, I just can't."  
  
"I could never hate you Kagome," but he sounded disappointed.   
  
She lowered her head, "Inu-Yasha..."  
  
"Yes?" He said hopefully.  
  
"Do you...Did you ever, meet, Tenshik?" The question was almost forced out of her. She had been hoping for a second opinion of Tenshik, since Sesshomaru was so tight-lipped.  
  
He seemed to be thinking for a second, and then, "I did meet her once, and I heard a lot about her from mother, and sometimes from father."  
  
"Wh-What was she like? When you met her?"  
  
"I was very small, but I remember, that she seemed to glow, like the sun, no, differently, I can't even describe it. But that was nothing next to her eyes. They just, shined. Tenshik was so full of life, I had never met anyone like her before. She loved to live, and she loved to keep other things alive, and happy. Tenshik was the kind of person who wouldn't turn her back on you, not ever. No matter what you had done."  
  
She was awed, he went on, "She was nice to me. She took my hand and said, 'Hello Inu-Yasha, I like your ears.'"  
  
He looked down, "Father never approved of her."  
  
Kagome gawked, "Why not?"  
  
He shook his head, "I don't know, I think he wanted Sesshomaru to mate with somebody else. I don't think he thought there was any room for a demi-godess in our bloodline."  
  
"That's awful, just because she was an outsider, he shot her down?"  
  
"I don't know, but it certainly seemed like it. He didn't have the right to talk anyway, he loved my mother."  
  
"And she was human."  
  
"That's right."  
  
Kagome looked out over the clouds, and watched the sunrise. A lovely sight, "I remember when I heard the news that she died. Sesshomaru came after we got the message, he was very angry. He was speaking in a very quiet voice, and he said, 'She has died father, are you happy now? But I will warn you, there will be no precious demon children for you, no, I will never love anyone again.'"  
  
"He really did love her then..." Kagome said slowly, "Is that why he's always so cold?"  
  
"I really think so. He was almost, kind, before she died."  
  
"Kind?"  
  
Inu-Yasha nodded, "He was caring, and, he didn't have anything against humans. He liked them, thought they were creative." Kagome laughed at the thought, "He liked me too."  
  
"How did she die?"  
  
"I don't really know, Father just wouldn't say anything, and Mother would always just ruffle my hair with this sad look and say 'I'll tell you when you are ready to hear it.'"  
  
"Was it that bad?"  
  
He sighed, "Apparently. You know, to see you now, to see her, almost alive, it's making me very happy. Tenshik was a wonderful person. You would have loved to meet her."  
  
***   
  
Hours passed. Inu-Yasha and Kagome didn't speak much. The sun rose, but the land beneath was still covered in pale light and early morning mist. It reminded Kagome of the morning after her first vision of Tenshik. She was going to comment on it, but she forgot it as she saw Aun pulling down, and passing through the clouds. It was landing. They had arrived.  
  
***  
  
Kagome was shaking all over, every muscle twitching and convulsing. "Are you cold Kagome-sama?" Miroku asked thoughtfully.  
  
She glared at him, "No thank you Miroku-sama, and that's very nice of you, but I don't need you to warm me up."  
  
He smiled seductively, though obviously disappointed that she had read his mind so quickly.  
  
"Then why are you shaking?" Shippou said from Miroku's shoulder.  
  
"I guess...I'm just still tired or something." Kagome was lying, but she wasn't about to tell either of them that she was frightened.  
  
"Sesshomaru?" She called to the front. "Are we near?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
The group brushed aside the thick tree branches with growing frustration. The forest near this grave was incredibly dense, and not in the least bit welcoming. Strange sounds echoed all around them, calling. Among them, Kagome could still hear Aun half a mile behind her, snorting in irritation at having been tethered to a tree. Sesshomaru had insisted that they not drag the beast with them. If he was tied too close, if anyone discovered him, Aun would lead them straight to the group, and the shrine.  
  
"It is just ahead." He easily hacked at a rather large branch with his talons, clearing the path."  
  
"Just ahea-" Sango stopped midway through her word, "Oh..."  
  
"What is it Sango-chan?" Kagome gasped, her shivering suddenly becoming even more violent.  
  
Carefully, with the timidness of a fawn, she stepped into the clearing in front of her. A few birds scattered from the top of the small palace.  
  
"Tenshik was loved by many, they wanted her tomb be large enough so that she could descend and protect them as she wished."  
  
It was a magnificent design of architecture, a mighty fortress standing stoutly on a square base of steps. The walls were thick, with slender columns and intricate patterns worked into them by what must have been a master of the craft. The shrine was entirely made of gray stone, a color that accented the light morning perfectly. It was immense, and certainly very high, standing several meters and stretching just as much.  
  
It was beautiful, but it terrified Kagome. "I have a bad feeling about this..." She whispered. "It, has a strange energy, I don't want to go up there."  
  
Sesshomaru turned around, giving her the same look that he had last night, "You must."  
  
"I can't..."  
  
"Come on Kagome," Inu-Yasha said softly, "We'll be with you..."  
  
"No you won't." Sesshomaru snapped.  
  
"Of course we will! We came all this way, we're not going to sit outside now!"  
  
"It is not a matter of desire, Inu-Yasha, it is something that cannot be questioned."  
  
"Like hell it can't!" He barked.  
  
Sango intervened, "Sesshomaru, please let us go with you and Kagome, we're her friends, we need to be there."  
  
"That's right!" Kagome put in desperately.  
  
Sesshomaru turned to Sango slowly, eyes shadowed, "You cannot go in, it is beyond my control."  
  
Miroku restrained Kagome, Sango, and Inu-Yasha with a hand, "What are you saying, Sesshomaru?"  
  
"There was a barrier erected around this shrine. It was performed by a priestess, long ago, when it was built, to protect it from evil, to protect the final resting place of Tenshik's soul from taint."  
  
Every one of them stopped dead, Inu-Yasha was the first to explode, "Why didn't you tell us?!"  
  
"In your state at the time, you were so concerned about the girl that you would not have believed me had I told you. You and I both knew this. I tried to dissuade you all the same, but you refused, and came nonetheless. The others followed, naturally."  
  
Kagome was ready to burst into tears. "But, then how are we going to get in?"  
  
"I was the closest person to Tenshik during her life, the barrier reacts to the visitors' meaning to her. You shall of course be let in, because we have reason to believe that her soul is resting within you. Tenshik would be allowed into her own grave."  
  
"I can't go in without my friends," she muttered quietly.  
  
"And we won't let her." Inu-Yasha placed a hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Besides," Sango said, "What is there to achieve in entering the shrine?"  
  
Sesshomaru almost sighed, "The contact of Tenshik's soul with her ashes would almost undoubtedly bring her into the light. We must try, unless of course you would prefer to remain in her body for the rest of your life." He addressed Kagome.  
  
She shook her head in answer.  
  
"I'm just...Afraid..."  
  
"Do not be." He turned, "It is time that we entered."  
  
Sango took Kagome's hand gently. "Be brave Kagome-chan, it will all be over soon..."  
  
Inu-Yasha touched her hand as well, "We'll be right here, not far away at all, alright?"  
  
  
  
Miroku came up behind her, "We will be waiting for you."  
  
"Good luck Kagome!" Shippou squeaked.  
  
"Thank you," she whispered, looking around at all of them.  
  
"Are you ready?" Sesshomaru asked.  
  
Kagome nodded, "Yes."  
  
Together, they began the ascent up the stone steps leading to the entrance of the shrine, a deep darkness seemingly looming within.  
  
***  
  
Grave, there, happy? Grave. Yep. They made it. Okay. Yes. That was funny, I had to rewrite most of Inu-Yasha's dialogue because he was speaking too poetically. Stick around for chapter 12, it should be just as long, and that, of course, is LONG. Farewell dewdrops! 


	12. This Isn't Good

Well hey everybody! It wasn't actually writer's block, nor was it a wave of flames, as so many people believe, I was just pretty sure everyone that I knew personally hated me. Not my faithful reviewers, never! Every single one of you has said something nice, I haven't gotten one offending review yet. Okay, okay, don't hate me, I know I haven't been updating in a long, LONG time, so you don't need to remind me when you review. Sorry! ^ ^; Oh, and this chapter will be really confusing, but do your best, k?  
  
***  
  
Reflection  
  
Chapter 12-This Isn't Good  
  
***  
  
She bit her lip in fear. The entrance was drawing closer and closer with each step. 'Think of mother, Kagome, think of mother, and father...' She thought.  
  
'Father's dead...'  
  
She raised eyes to Sesshomaru, who walked in front of her, 'But I knew him before he died.'  
  
Her hands were trembling uncontrollably. She couldn't do this, she just couldn't... A task of this importance required somebody more qualified. Someone with strength, and courage. Why did Tenshik have to come to her...?  
  
They approached the last step. The archway that led to the darkness within the shrine was suddenly far more vast and tall then Kagome had thought. "Follow me."  
  
She nodded, and stood frozen in her last moment of fear, and then, breathed deeply, closed her eyes, and stepped in. Her footsteps echoed in the darkness. There was no light, except for a dim stretch of it falling in from the outside. It was unnaturally quiet, she couldn't hear a thing beside her own breathing, feet, and heartbeat. Had she been close enough, Kagome was certain that she could have heard Sesshomaru's as well.  
  
"Come," his voice flowed out of the shadows, hinting at disappointment for her slowness.  
  
"D-do you know where you're going?" She asked softly.  
  
"I have been here before."  
  
She nearly flinched at his voice, so cold, like the shrine itself. "Of course."  
  
As she moved in the place, Kagome gradually began to notice the ultimate flaw in the building. It was so oddly silent, so dark, so cold, so impossibly...empty. There was no friendly soul here, no one left to warm the air. It was a shrine that stood like an abyss, like an ancient fragment of a lost civilization hidden in the trees. It wasn't even a shrine, because it didn't have a spirit to stand over. It was gone, it had left. Where had the soul gone?  
  
They wandered forward for a long time, Kagome never aware of a difference as they passed between the same two stone walls. She didn't even notice, as she was gradually able to see her feet as they moved in front of her.  
  
"Tenshik's ashes are just ahead."  
  
Kagome looked up, and saw a wave of light falling out of the ceiling; from a sky light, of some sort. It was settling over a miniature statue of the shrine, identical to it, and it was set on a stone, rectangular block, like a piece of artwork on display.  
  
'Her ashes...' Kagome touched the center of her chest. It was almost too much, that she would be walking in the body whose cremated remains were resting in front of her.  
  
She was within a yard of it. Kagome prepared herself for anything, regarding Sesshomaru's prediction or otherwise. 'Let it be over soon, please...' She thought.  
  
She was now a foot away, another step and she would be touching it. She held her breath.   
  
Nothing was happening.  
  
Her eyes flipped open, and she glanced around, nothing was happening, at all. As if in a trance, everything felt unusual, but she had felt that from the moment she had entered, there was no change. Perhaps it was more distinct now, but that was it. She turned to Sesshomaru, unhappy to face his certain disappointment, and even more so to realize that she was still trapped in Tenshik's body. She looked at him, smiled glumly, "Sesshomaru?" She whispered, "It didn't work..."  
  
But he was looking at her with an utterly different expression than Kagome had expected. It was...shock. Confused, she asked, "Sesshomaru? Are you alright?" She looked down and realized in blushing surprise that she was holding his hands with both of hers, and peeked up at him questioningly.  
  
  
  
His only answer was, "Tenshik..."  
  
***  
  
"Sesshomaru, my love, words cannot express what it means to me to see you again... It's me, it's me..." She reached out to him with both hands, sliding them over his own gently.  
  
"Tenshik..."  
  
"Yes," she whispered, her golden hair cast on an unseen breeze as it swayed about her. The sacred light that she had carried with her always had returned, shining around her as a soft aura. Her green eyes sparkled, and shone. She was alive again, his Tenshik.  
  
Tears were forming at the corners of her eyes, out of pure joy of seeing him again. She felt Kagome's spirit inside of her, cradled, and certainly afraid. Tenshik was pierced with sympathy, remembering how it had been with her when she had awakened to a world that couldn't hear or see her. 'Hush, I'm so sorry Kagome, I shall speak with you soon, I promise, but please, endure this torture just a little longer, I must speak with Sesshomaru, it is so important.'  
  
"Tenshik," Sesshomaru was almost trembling, to see her like this again, "Why have you done this? Why have you come? How-"  
  
She faced him again, and cooed, "Hush beloved, there is no time. Now please," she gripped his hands tightly, "Tell me that you remember what I said to you when I died?"  
  
He hesitated, "Why are you asking me?"  
  
"Please love! Tell me that you remember!" Her voice was desperate.  
  
"I don't understand but," he looked down, "Yes, I remember clearly. You told me that you would return, because your task had not been completed. Tenshik..."  
  
"That's right," her voice was shaking with tears, "My task, I had to defeat the evil. The terrible evil, it destroyed me once, it shall not do it again..." She was mumbling more to herself then Sesshomaru, gentle face suddenly full of quiet rage. It was unfitting for her features.  
  
He cupped her cheek with his hand, "What is this evil that you sense?"  
  
"You call, it Naraku, but it so much more then what you see..."  
  
He relaxed, his love was saying such strange things, but he was suddenly in familiar territory. "Naraku? Yes, we are already on the verge of destroying him, do not worry..."  
  
She gripped his shoulders, "But you do not understand! It, he is more then that! He is so much more! He is a vortex, he is drawing everything in!"  
  
His face became stern, and sad at the same time, "Tenshik, we will destroy him, the girl is already powerful enough. Please, rest, let your soul be at peace, and abandon her, because your presence is tearing her apart." It was tearing at his heart to have to say these things to the one that he had wished for so long to be at his side again, but she was so frantic now, that it seemed that this couldn't possibly be his calm Tenshik.  
  
"No, Sesshomaru, there is more than that as well, I told you that I would return..."  
  
He suddenly understood her words, and almost laughed. If this were truly Tenshik, then she must have suffered under delusion for many nights, to believe herself now. "Are you saying that this girl is your reincarnation?" His tone was almost openly mocking, "She is the reincarnation of another, you cannot be-"  
  
"No! That is not true! She is not! I am telling you, despite the similarities, this girl is not who you think she is! She is not even a reincarnation, she is me...We are the same soul and mind, and heart, it is different then the art of reincarnation, she is me."  
  
The laughter had left Sesshomaru's voice, and he held Tenshik's shoulders firmly. "That is not possible."  
  
"It is under these circumstances! So great is the need for me to terminate this evil that my soul was born again."  
  
"Then why does she resist you? Why do you and the girl conflict within this body?" He was being sharp with her.  
  
"It may seem like two souls, she is, I am tearing myself apart, because...It is the only answer that I can find. Possession was the only possible answer to me. I exist now as a separate entity, only so that I may speak with you of things past."  
  
"If you were truly the same being, then you would have the memories that you had all the same, would you not?"  
  
"Sesshomaru, please don't be suspicious of me, I could never hurt another, I am trying to ease this new form of mine into realization, so that we may completely be one, but it is difficult, I am stubborn now, fearful of past experiences with reincarnation and possession. When I finally allow it, I will remember everything, but it will take time..."  
  
He drew her close to him, and tried once again to ease his dear one out of the falsehoods her soul had somehow created. "Tenshik, I do not even understand this evil that you speak of, how it isn't Naraku, how we will fail if you do not destroy it yourself," He held her tighter, "But all I can think of, is that you weren't finished with a task, this is true, but that task was to stay with me; Tenshik, I never had the chance to tell you, but forgive me, I shouldn't have abandoned you, I was blind."  
  
"No my love, do not say such things, I-" She was cut off as she wilted to the ground, panting.  
  
"Tenshik?" He knelt by her side.  
  
"My time is short, I only had so much strength to return to you this way for even the shortest time. I cannot explain now, but I will soon enough, before you face him, and you will because I love you and I need you to be there, you will need to know what you are to fight against..." Her words were hurried.  
  
"No, you cannot leave!" He embraced her even more tightly. It was all so confusing...was this even Tenshik, or a ghostly demon come to insult him?  
  
"Sesshomaru, I will always be with you. I will just look a little different."  
  
His disbeliefs were suddenly dispelled as he looked into her beautiful face, and saw the desperate plea there, the pain, and the frustration and agony of living alone...This was Tenshik.  
  
"No!"  
  
He wasn't looking at her directly, but he felt a strange force coursing through him, a changing power, it was sweeping over her body, and his. She was leaving him again...  
  
Silence fell over the shrine again. He was shaking with anger that he had blind enough not to believe in her for that precious moment, and that he had lost her again.  
  
A soft voice spoke from within his grasp, "Sesshomaru? I'm so sorry...She died with such cruelty, you have been through so much pain, I'm so sorry... But can you, maybe, let go of me now?"  
  
***  
  
Kagome was ready to cry, but the tears would not come. She screamed at him, called at him, but he was speaking incoherently, no matter what. Always, as if he were talking to a totally different person, and she had a safe guess as to who.  
  
"Have you finally lost it Sesshomaru?! Tenshik is dead! Nothing happened!" He continued with his conversation.  
  
"Sesshomaru." Kagome tried to sink to her knees in despair, but her hands were linked around Sesshomaru's, and she couldn't remove them.  
  
She watched him, in blank silence. Not bothering to protest his behavior, not bothering to protest her own. Kagome felt herself, trapped, and she was suddenly filled with hopelessness.  
  
A voice swept around her, distant, like it was coming across a great distance, "Hush," it said, "I'm so sorry Kagome, I shall speak with you soon, I promise, but please, endure this torture just a little longer, I must speak with Sesshomaru, it is so important."  
  
She regained focus, "T-tenshik....? Is this real? Am I dreaming?" Kagome wanted to shake, wanted to scream, her eyes were glued to Sesshomaru and she moved at times only...when she felt...allowed.  
  
  
  
"WHAT'S HAPPENING?!" Light streaked across her vision like bolts of lighting, white light, it raced across the everything in seconds, engulfing Kagome, and her whole world in blinding purity.  
  
"Sesshomaru?" She called, once more timid and afraid, "Sesshomaru!" The light beamed at her from all sides, and Kagome flinched at it. Dimly, she realized that her form was visible against this light, and that she was moving with her own will. But that seemed the least of her worries now, as she was stranded in this odd world.  
  
"He isn't here, it's just...us. Or, it's just you."  
  
Kagome spun around, and saw a woman standing before her, she had golden hair, radiant emerald eyes, and was dressed in an elegant kimono. She was smiling apologetically at her. The light itself, seemed to shine from her form, but Kagome was not impressed. She raised an eyebrow and reached out to the woman without warning, picking up a lock of her hair and cradling it in the palm of her hand before letting it drop back into its original place. "So you're not a mirror then, Tenshik."  
  
She nodded, "Hold your own hair this time Kagome, I think you'll be happy to see that its your own."  
  
Kagome scooped up a few hairs and clutched it before her eyes. It was black, cool, comforting, shining black, like a raven's coat. She looked up at Tenshik for a moment, "C-can I cry now?"  
  
"Yes. Cry."  
  
Kagome crashed to her knees and broke into great sobs, face in her hands. Tenshik knelt down beside her and placed a soothing hand on her shoulder, patting her back comfortingly. "Shh, Kagome, you're alright now."  
  
Tenshik's hand was damp as it moved across Kagome's back. She looked up, "Tenshik, you're crying too, do I, control you now?"  
  
The woman shook her tear streaked face slowly, "Don't speak of control Kagome, neither of us controls the other, we are a single person."  
  
But at these words, Kagome went still, looking at Tenshik like she brandishing a knife at her. Without warning then, she sprang to her feet and laughed bitterly, "You possessed me Tenshik, you possessed me, and I'll never forgive you!"  
  
***  
  
Yes, yes, I know, so many things left unanswered, I'm sorry. And it wasn't as long as last time, no, but a lot just happened, so I think I'll let you sit on it for a while. Next chapter should be out soon, I've been a bit busy lately, so it's a little hard to produce stuff quickly now. Bye then dewdrops! Thanx for waiting! 


	13. I Need Help Like Nobody's Business

Oh goodness. How long has it been since I've written an introduction of this nature? Too long, obviously. But um, I have an excuse! Let's get the drum roll going guys...Yes, you guessed it, SCHOOL! Isn't it just the greatest pain in the ass you ever had to suffer through? Uh-huh, well, it's back to haunt me, and I'll have all of you know that they had to drag me down kicking and screaming. I put up a fight till the very end by god! Yet now, while I attempt a fresh year of torture, I still could not reject my readers, so here I am. My sincerest apologies for the delay, I hate every minute that I'm not able to get farther with this stupid story. New chapter for you. Fresh.  
  
Oh, hey, this chapter is dedicated to Myouga Jiji whose birthday it is today. Happy birthday Myouga Jiji! I encourage everyone to go out and read her story, Myouga Strikes Back, it's delightful and funny and I know she would love to have some lovely reviews as birthday gifts.  
  
Disclaimer: Didn't I take care of it already? I think so. Don't bother me I have a headache.  
  
***  
  
Reflection  
  
Chapter 13-I Need Help Like Nobody's Business  
  
***  
  
Tenshik went totally still, and then sank into a ragged appearance, suddenly growing worn before Kagome's very eyes. She watched the angelic figure as the light around her faded some, until she grew to resemble a broken china doll. "Kagome," she whispered, "Don't be difficult, please...I need you to cooperate."  
  
Kagome hesitated where she stood, for a flickering moment actually considering what this woman was saying and taking in her appearance and her weary air, but it was a hesitant moment short lived, and her emotions snapped again. "C-cooperate?" Her eyebrows rose in mock-surprise. She ran her tongue along the tips of her front teeth as she carefully planned her next words. "Cooperate?" Her voice too was a whisper, but lower, more dangerous. She said it again, and this time her voice grew, "Cooperate?! How can you say that to me?!"  
  
Tenshik did not respond, merely stared at her with hollow green eyes. Kagome trembled and her fists clenched unconsciously, "You...You're toying with me aren't you? With everyone!" She hissed.  
  
"You don't understand..." Tenshik mumbled, voice cracking.  
  
"What is there to understand?!" Kagome raged, "You've brought suffering on everyone! Not just me! What do you think it's doing to Sesshomaru to see 'alive' again?! It's breaking his heart! You're a monster!"  
  
Tenshik closed her eyes, and tears spilled down her cheeks quietly and more quickly than before. Gradually, she curled in a bit, and her shoulders shuddered and heaved in great gasping sobs. Kagome just watched silently. "I c-couldn't help it, I was worried..."  
  
"Oh yes..." She spat icily, "And what is your excuse for that? Why do you have to worry for him anyway? Why can't you just die and leave him in peace?!"  
  
"I had to come back."  
  
  
  
"You didn't."  
  
"Yes I did! You don't understand."  
  
"Look at me when you talk Tenshik!"  
  
Slowly, she raised her head and willed herself to look at Kagome through a curtain of messy, tangled gold hair. "Kagome..."  
  
"Tenshik, leave us alone. This is not your world." Her tone had become a great deal softer, but she held no less contempt for the shattered wisp of a spirit before her.  
  
Tenshik shook her head numbly, "I can't."  
  
Kagome was firm, "Yes you can. I will even help you."  
  
"Kagome!" There was a roll of thunder, and suddenly everything grew dim and strong at the same time. Kagome reeled back in pain at the sudden explosion of energy that had just unleashed itself before her. Inky black clouds unfolded above her head; it was a storm in progress, the speed of it accelerated many times. An accompanying wind picked up and blew around her, setting her hair flying madly. There was more thunder, and lightening flashed brilliantly and quickly like sparks flying across the sky. She was terrified and also it set her body on fire with a raging strength.  
  
In front of her, Tenshik was sitting on her legs on the ground; leaning forward slightly, mid-way to sitting up straight, so that her hands were pressed to the ground palms down. But her head was no longer hanging loosely, nor was she peering at her through a curtain of hair. It had been swept from her line of vision and cast on the same wind that was possessively flipping her own about. Her eyes were bright and determined, but still without light or definition. A fraction of her original light had been returned to her, but it was tinted black, like shadow.  
  
"Kagome!" Her voice was clear and ringing. "Listen to me! You have an enemy yet to be faced! The way you are now you have no chance and everyone will die!"  
  
"What are you talking about?!" She still had enough courage to shout above the storm's noise.  
  
She closed her eyes for a second, and then opened them without a word. Tenshik sighed then and said, "I will show you."  
  
Kagome had barely a moment to register her words or even her own surprise before everything before her was hurled out of vision. She was swept up into a rushing blackness, her mind was tossed over and over, and her body was beyond comprehension. All she knew was the wracking blackness that was rifling through her consciousness, pulling her up and over and forward and back like she was caught in swirling rapids. She didn't know words, she didn't know senses, she didn't know anything except that she was in this black sea that was tossing her without effort or her own protest.  
  
And then it stopped.  
  
It stopped without warning, and Kagome was allowed a single second of peace in which her thoughts were rushing to catch up with her.  
  
But then she was met with a new onslaught more powerful than the last and by far more potent. Instead of having no thoughts, she had thousands, and all of them were new and strange. The names of people she had never met, events that she had never experienced. Memories that weren't hers, all of them, but she knew they had been there. These things, she had known of them her entire life, and now she was living them because they were part of her in some way.  
  
Kagome found herself accepting it all and yearning for it. She wanted more, every moment she felt she wanted the next one instantly. She wanted it all, and once again she was brought to a shuddering halt.  
  
***  
  
Her body was smooth and new. For many hundreds of years she had envied creatures who were gifted with this freedom, and now she had it herself. She laughed, and relished how her voice sounded and how beautiful if felt to have it come from her lips; lips! Her lips! She had lips! That thought led her to run her tongue over the said flesh slowly, which was followed by an assortment of random actions and movements she had been repeating for hours now. She touched her arm with the tips of her fingers, she picked up a lock of hair and held it in front of her eyes, she bent down and gathered fistfuls of long green grass into her hands and on and on until she had laughed herself to the point that her sides were aching and she collapsed onto the plush ground.  
  
There she lay, with her hair fanning out about her and her green eyes half-lidded in the early stages of sleep. It was all so precious and perfect, she could never have imagined the ecstacy of being alive as humans and demons were. To be able to move with limbs and not as a spirit weaving in and out of trees. To have a clear, defined shape and not an unconstrained energy that priests and other holy figures would point at and cower before, if not bow and worship. Perhaps that might still be the case sometimes, but she would be careful, she would be very careful and never let them see her unless she wanted them to.  
  
She didn't understand why or how it had happened, but it had. She had gone from being a power of the earth to a living creature. The gods had gifted her, graced her with this wonderful opportunity. But...why? How had she been so special? She knew that there were countless other spirits out there; more powerful than the lesser gods and the demons, more allusive and unnoticed than the entities that the humans named and prayed before, and yet still less powerful than the gods that ruled above in the heavens, the gods that had given her her new body. They were a special class of the multiple different forces that inhabited the earth, and a very large one. Countless was countless, and again she asked herself, how had she been special?  
  
She knew so little. To the gods she was just a servant...   
  
Perhaps it had something to do with the radical change that had been sweeping over the lands so recently. Of course she had felt, no doubt everything with even the smallest bit of spiritual awareness had felt the rippling turn of the soil. Something was certainly affecting the earth somehow, but she did not know what. The gods knew...they had to.  
  
But that was not definite. "That" being that she had been blessed with a body of her own because of the change. All she had known before it had happened was a warning, blaring signal; that what she had secretly desired for so long would happen. That signal had rapidly gone from a knowing to a sensation, and she had realized that she was thinking it, and not just feeling it as spirits perceived everything, she was having a thought, using her mind, and suddenly everything was turned over, and she discovered her new form.  
  
So strange... She giggled again. But so wonderful!  
  
She laughed and laughed once more until exhaustion set in and sleep took her, and she rested in the forest, in the tall grasses that kissed her bare skin.  
  
***  
  
Her thoughts raced again.  
  
***  
  
She danced because it brought forth so many feelings at once. There was the grass between her toes, and the way the air swam and parted for her arms and legs as she twirled. Or balance, she loved to test her balance, to see how far she could bend or twist in one way before she lost control. And there was the music that she had to respond to as well. It was all around her. It was the wind in the leaves and the nightly creatures, and the moonlight that dappled across her. She couldn't help but dance for it.  
  
And so she did, swaying and moving gracefully. For the most part, she kept her eyes closed against everything so that she could employ select senses; touch, taste, smell, hearing.   
  
Then, she felt herself fall forward in a bend. She had lost balance, and she was rushing towards the ground, her eyes snapped open and she recovered as her nose brushed against the tips of the grass. After the shock of the drop subsided, she prepared to close her eyes once more and ease back into the dance.  
  
And so she spun again, and watched the trees for a moment. It was then that she saw him. He was standing in the shelter of the forest, out of the moon's shining light, watching her silently with haunting eyes.  
  
His eyes were beautiful. Piercing, shimmering yellow-gold, the like of which she had never seen nor imagined. All that she had ever known since the beginning of her new existence were the dark shades and shadows of the deep forest, where she had resided. But this was entirely different. His eyes were passionate, shining, beaming with fire and battle and fierce emotion.  
  
Slowly he stepped into the light, and his features grew more visible. She drank in the sight of him because she could not resist his presence there before her.  
  
A mane of silver-white hair that flowed down around his shoulders and down his back elegantly, and reflected the moonlight he was now bathed in so that it adapted a radiant aura. His face was sharp and watchful. Not cold and bored, but piercing and observant. He took another step, and she took one back.  
  
He took yet another step, but this time she was too mesmerized to counter it with a step of her own. Seeing that he had caught her, he advanced more so that he was standing right in front of her, scarcely a foot away.  
  
A strong hand with fine milky-white claws came forth from the folds of a long sleeve, and it pulled off his outer shirt. His other hand reached out to her and came around her, sweeping away her hair in its path and pressing against her back. She shivered under his touch and was excited to feel an alien skin against her own. Gently, he pushed her towards him, and she relented as if she had been struck dumb, so that she leaned into his chest, relaxed, tense, fearful, and awed at the same time.  
  
The shirt came around her shoulders and was wrapped about her. When it had been settled into place, he brought his other arm around her and didn't move.  
  
She breathed softly, afraid to ruin the moment with obtrusive noise.  
  
He spoke beside her ear in a hushed whisper, "Your name is Tenshik."  
  
***  
  
Once more, she was subjected to strange rushing thoughts.  
  
***  
  
Sesshomaru sat beside me not speaking, but fixing a hard glare on his father. Inu-Yasha was being ushered away by an attendant, an elderly mortal woman who had been an aid of Aiko for many years. She often watched the child when his mother couldn't.  
  
Inu-Yasha looked like he wanted desperately to protest, but knew better than to even dare it. I followed him with my eyes. He looked at me, beaming, and I smiled at him. The woman said something soft and short to him and he scooted out the door.  
  
My gaze was returned to the opposite pair in front of me. Aiko was seated just behind and to the side of Inutaisho, she looked weary and drawn, and also tragically sad. Her pretty face was in a grieved expression, eyes focused on the ground.  
  
Inutaisho watched his son without any visible emotion. His hair was loose and spilling down his back similarly to Sesshomaru's. He sat straight, proud, and unquestionable. He narrowed his eyes to watch him with yellow slits. "This is your mate then Sesshomaru?"  
  
I watched quietly without a move. I wouldn't blush or giggle, I had to be strong in the face of a strong enemy. That was how Sesshomaru had always taught me. Although I wished it didn't have to be that way this time...  
  
"Yes." Sesshomaru replied firmly.  
  
Inutaisho closed his eyes solemnly and sighed, "I will not allow it."  
  
Aiko made an almost wincing noise and raised her eyes to me, they were pleading eyes asking for forgiveness. I watched her in sympathy for a moment that she had to feel pain for this, and then quickly turned to Sesshomaru. I didn't care what action I made in front of Inutaisho any longer.  
  
Sesshomaru had narrowed his eyes also to match his father's. I believe he would have barred his fangs if he didn't have such a respect for Inutaisho yet. His voice was almost breaking with anger, "On what grounds do you make this decision father?"  
  
Inutaisho looked vaguely surprised, but not nearly so much as he was angry, "Are you questioning me?" He asked.  
  
There was a pause, and then, "Yes."  
  
I jumped a bit. Why was he doing this? He shouldn't, couldn't protest his father! I didn't want him to do this, it was his father, his father...  
  
"Very well..." He said in a growl, "I shall tell you then, though by this point I should have thought you would have seen it yourself." Another pause, "I will not allow this filth in our line!"  
  
Aiko bit her lip and closed her eyes again, a tear slipped down her cheek, on the side that was facing away from Inutaisho, thank the gods. Poor, dear sweet Aiko, she shouldn't have to suffer... I didn't bat an eye, I had expected such a reaction from the Lord of the Western Lands.  
  
Sesshomaru however, was positively bristling with rage. His next words surprised and distressed me more than his protest a moment ago, "How dare you name her filth... How can you even think it?!"  
  
"Do not hiss at me!" Inutaisho cried. "She is poison to our blood! It is obvious! If you take her to mate she shall spoil our descendants!" He took a quivering breath, "She is a weakness..."  
  
"A weakness?! She is practically a goddess!"  
  
"A goddess?! She is a rogue spirit that you took a taking to, she is an abomination of this earth! How can a spirit adapt a body?! It is unholy, and for it she should be destroyed! And even more despicable, that you would even consider such a union between you!"  
  
"And yet that is not what you fear! I can dismiss your lies as cowardice, but I shall say it again, that is not what you despise about Tenshik!"  
  
Inutaisho seemed taken aback for an instant, in which he directed the briefest glance at Aiko, who did not see or return it, her eyes were directed at the ground again. But we both saw it.  
  
"I see..." Sesshomaru said slowly. "You fear that I would wreck our pure blood...Because you took a human woman you know that I am your only hope left for a demon line..."  
  
Aiko let the tears fall freely now in the face of her lord and mate. She was a brave soul.  
  
Inutaisho didn't say a word.  
  
"You need me to father demon children, because you ruined the chances for yourself!"  
  
Still, he said no word.  
  
"And that is why you protest our union, because you are so selfish as to find love for yourself and deny it to me..."  
  
"You can find love elsewhere! There are plenty of females more worthy of your attention!"  
  
"There is no one but Tenshik!" Sesshomaru raged.  
  
"Don't be foolish! Can't you see what you will do to your family!"  
  
"I will except no other father!" He insisted.  
  
"You do not need to!"  
  
Silence.  
  
Aiko gasped. We all knew what that meant. Sesshomaru's eyes grew wide. "Father..." He whispered.  
  
Inutaisho looked worn and his face was turned just a bit away from Sesshomaru. I was frozen in shock. "You do not need to deny her Sesshomaru..." He continued. "You do not need to spare your love to any other..."  
  
"You!" Sesshomaru spat, jumping to his feet. "How could you!"  
  
"I love Aiko...But I loved my own father as well, and I conformed with his wishes, because I saw the need of such things. I gave him a demon child, I continued the line as it should be continued. Now I ask you to do the same for me, Sesshomaru."  
  
"What was my mother then?!" His eyes held the faintest tinge of red. "A tool for you and your father's petty desires?! Did you ever even hold respect for her?!"  
  
Inutaisho wouldn't, or couldn't respond.  
  
"Answer me!"  
  
"No, I did not love her Sesshomaru..."  
  
I was certain from the way that Aiko was weeping that she knew how Sesshomaru's mother had died. Even I knew, Sesshomaru had confessed it to me. The Lady Takashi had wasted away...died a slow and lonely death, because her mate, whom she dearly loved, had taken her son, the only person she loved more, and left her in a palace in the south of his lands, surrounded by bustling attendants, but never her own family. She had died out of worry for them as they crusaded across the lands, she had died because there was no one for her to love... And worse yet, she had died remembering the promise that Inutaisho had made as he left, a promise that said he would return to her with Sesshomaru some day. But she never saw either of them again before she died.  
  
"You monster..." Sesshomaru whispered. I got to my feet and went to him, touching his arm softly. He didn't look at me, his eyes were fixed with disbelief upon Inutaisho. "I will not obey one who has so little humanity left in him. I will be in love with Tenshik, and I congratulate you on finding your own happiness with Aiko. Farewell Inutaisho."  
  
He turned and stormed out of the door with his arm around my shoulders. I didn't put up any sort of fight, I was stunned.  
  
As we left, we saw Inu-Yasha and his caretaker playing in a garden through a window. Inu-Yasha laughed and smiled at us. I returned his smile like I had before, Sesshomaru was watching him with what could only be described as hatred. Inu-Yasha was a child born of love, he was a child born of tradition and betrayal.  
  
***  
  
I walked in the garden contentedly. It had been the first time in a year that I had been able to relax and not be worried from the incident with Sesshomaru's father so long ago. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom, and their petals showered me. It resembled a scene out of a child's tale, perfect and pleasant in every way.  
  
I sighed, it could hardly be considered a garden. It was really part of the forest, set deep inside of it. The forest that I had always loved and lived in since I had found my body, and even before that, to the days when I was a spirit of the earth.   
  
Sesshomaru would be inside the palace now. It was a large castle, the one where he spent most of his time when he was not in battle. Though he hated his father and rarely had any contact with him at all, he still functioned as a warrior of the western lands. Despite everything including his anger, he still loved his father in some way, and he would still fight for his family.  
  
The castle was fairly new. He had built it some years ago, after he had found me and named me. He enjoyed being near this place, he said, and he also knew that I was most comfortable here.  
  
I approached the temple cautiously. I didn't really approve of the temple, it frightened me in a way. They way it stood there so strange and opposing. It was an odd intrusion in the happy setting. It had sweeping archways and stone carvings and an odd geometric style that was uncommon. Sesshomaru told me once that it had come out of nowhere, appearing roughly around the time that I had. I found that strange and began exploring it's depths during my walks through the forest. It didn't look new, it looked ancient and solemn, as if it shouldn't be touched because of sacred power, but I was compelled to go to it. So compelled that it almost became a daily thing that I would go to it and sit before it for hours at a time. After a long while, I finally decided on entering it, swallowing up my silly notions of it being too sacred for me to touch.  
  
And it was sacred, it was the point between the heavens and the earth. There I learned my purpose, my mission. I found out that it wasn't just a wondrous miracle that I had a body to call my own, I had a divine task to fulfill.  
  
It is an eerie feeling to speak with your creators. To realize that you're actually holding a conversation of sorts with the beings whose thoughts you are the offspring of. A feeling of immobility comes over you suddenly, and you are struck dumb; words come from your mouth, and they are not your own.  
  
That day, the day that I entered the temple for the first time, I felt the power of the gods in my living flesh, and it frightened me. But they spoke to me, and comforted me, and told me not to be afraid. Then they taught me about my purpose. The gods told me that I had been gifted with a body and a power. I was special, I was unique. I had been selected because as a spirit I was able to animate a body, and as such a strong spirit with such love for the earth I was desired for the role. I had enough power of my own to maintain that which they would give me themselves, and I was of the earth, not above as they were. Otherwise they would have descended themselves and fought the battle on their own, but they could not, they were mighty and superior, they could not descend without shattering and destroying everything around them. So they chose me, their special messenger and warrior. I would fight the battle, for the earth that I so dearly loved.  
  
At that point I had been more afraid and confused then ever before. I had wanted to run but I could not, I had wanted to scream and cry but I could not.  
  
  
  
Again, the gods comforted me and tried to ease my confusion. They knew my question, and after a time, so that I could be calmed, they told me what I was fighting against. I was scared of what they would say, mainly because anything that would frighten the gods to the point that they had to call upon the inferior creatures of the earth for aid had to be terrifying. And they wanted me to defeat it.  
  
Slowly they told me what it was that had driven them to this. They said that there had been an evil growing, a terrible evil that could destroy everything. It was the evil in the hearts of all men and beasts and demons. More specifically, it was one of their own.   
  
In the beginning, when there was nothing but the gods, no stars or earth or moon or sun, just the gods, there had been a war. All of them against a single one, the god of darkness. It was the way things had to be... The Darkness would have had a world of suffering forever, the Light, the gods I worshiped, would have had a utopia. And so, the opposing forces went to war for the longest time. They fought and clashed and struck at each other for thousands of years, as it would have been recorded in human measurement. And at last, the light triumphed, they banded together and shattered the Dark God into many fragments, destroying him.  
  
And so, the gods then used their mighty power to begin to create the world they had envisioned, and made the rivers with their tears, and raised the mountains from the soil. And when all was ready, they created humans and beasts, and lesser gods and spirits, like she had been, to thrive alongside them. Also, demons escaped from hell and crawled upon the land, infused with the new magic of the gods that had been breathed into their flesh. But unbeknownst to the gods, scattered like dust, the Dark God still had life in him yet, but he was weak, so weak that he was not superior any longer, he was an inferior creature, but he had the chance to rise to an earth-shattering level again.   
  
He saw the gods, spirits, beasts, humans and demons and when the time was right, quietly took refuge in their hearts. For the heart is the place where all things pass, emotions and feelings and energies, there was strength there, and it was such a confused, soft space that the gods would never see him there, gathering his power again. There he waited, festering and decaying for thousands of years since the start of man's existence and now he is almost ready to make his chaos a possibility again. He is getting stronger, and soon he will unleash himself from the hearts of all beings and shall step out a god reborn. A god reborn, a superior creature once again, he will do just as he desires, and so as he steps out he shall destroy the earth with his very presence, as any true god would.  
  
It was the change that had been felt. The change was him, he was getting ready to make his move.  
  
  
  
At that point I had no doubt been pale, a single tear streaking down my cheek in utter horror; the gods' words were powerful in my soul, having just the desired affect.  
  
Again, they told me, more firmly this time, to be strong. I had a deep power residing in me. I had a body and a worthy soul to drive it, I had to be grateful to my creators and fulfill my task. They had told me these things over and over again until my silent tears had ceased and I was ready to listen to them again.  
  
And they told me about my abilities. I could move the mountains, I could move the earth itself, I could even move the stars. My power was great and beautiful. It was a power that was made not to destroy, but to purify, because as of this moment, death could not affect the Darkness, death was part of the Darkness. In order to be truly eliminated, he needed to be cleansed, ultimately erasing him forever. I had that gift, but it was so great that I could not tap into it now, I had to learn to use it. That was why the temple had also appeared with me.  
  
The temple was the gateway to the heavens, the single place on earth where the gods and their children could truly be together directly. The very rock of which it had been molded was the stuff of the gods, the very same material they had used to shape their palaces and homes among the stars. To incorporate something so precious into my body would have made it impossible for me to live as I do now, I would have become blind and mute, and as a stone.  
  
It was still unclear, however why the temple was needed. And so the gods then explained why it was necessary that they needed to be able to speak with me in just such a way. They told me that gradually, it would become easier to move as they spoke, which would inevitably prove to me how strong I actually was. By the mere act of being able to move when possessed by the very gods themselves, my will was as great, if not greater than theirs.  
  
They continued. And they explained that my sacred gift was so strong and wild, that at this moment it was being contained by them. With training and time, I would be able to control it on my own. That was why they needed the temple, so that they would be able to teach me how to balance myself and excel in moving my flesh and living with it wear no other earthly being had ever excelled before. I would learn ultimate control, thus controlling the power that rested inside of me. For at that moment, if I unleashed it, it could be as damaging the very thing I was going to try and prevent. But such as it was needed, they had bestowed it upon me. If I could control it, I could use it, it was that simple. All I had to do was learn, they would teach me.  
  
My foot was poised in mid-air over the first step of the temple. I cringed. The training was difficult, I feared it and shunned it. Every day I came closer to understanding things that I had never known in my life as a spirit: death, hurt, torture, despair. I despised the training, but I was reminded all ours of the day and night that the earth I loved was at terrible risk if I turned my back on this purpose. It took everything to create my body, the gods had made it clear that it was a task that could not be performed again in the brief period of time they now had.  
  
Sighing, I set my foot down, and was immediately hit on all sides by the forceful power of my peers coming down at me. It was the same experience I had had for months now. I was just starting to adjust to it.  
  
The most torturous aspect of my training however, is that I can't help but be tormented by thoughts of Sesshomaru, and what agonies our union might suffer with the arrival of my new power. I really do love him.  
  
  
  
***  
  
Kagome suddenly felt searing pain, her eyes focused and unfocused in terrible blackness...What was happening? Everything...it was horrible.  
  
***  
  
I was running, running as fast as I could. My lungs heaved and my legs burned, but I continued. I had to run, something was wrong... Lightening flashed overhead and I screwed my eyes tight as I crashed through the trees. I had just come from the temple, the gods had not spoken to me, I was worried and frightened...and then I felt it. Like a knives being pushed into my back, I was charged with a searing, twisted feeling of ultimate torture. It only lasted more than a few moments, but it left me panting.  
  
At the second it left my body, my head shot up and I bolted from the sacred place, straight into the depths of the forest. I could feel it out there, still strong, and by a strange force I was drawn to find it again. My senses, all of them and those that I had acquired from my training were sharp and screaming at me to go forward, I did so without a fight.  
  
The dark trees opened before me as I ran. By now, after hours of tense waiting for the presence of the gods in my mind againl, day had passed into night. Though night it was, the blackness all around me seemed more ominous than ever before. But I was too possessed with my need to find the source of the searing attack to register any type of fear.  
  
My ankle caught on a fallen tree, I stumbled and kept going. Thorny branches leered at me from all sides, grasping at my hair and clothing and dragging sharp talons across my cheeks. I ignored them.  
  
I tripped again and my chest exploded as my efforts in making my way through the forest suddenly caught up with me. I panted raspingly, dragging myself up a bit from where I had fallen forward. I propped myself up on my elbows and there was another burst of lightening. Slowly I groped forward in the dark and in time my fingers grasped around the tough bark of a decaying tree limb and I pulled myself forward over the hard earth.  
  
Again, I felt outwards in front of me, trying to find a hold, and to my surprise I found nothing. My eyes, having been closed since the fall, opened slowly, and I looked out in total, abysmal shock.  
  
The ground had been ripped to pieces, leaving smoking, charred remains. The blackened stumps of some few trees that had managed to survive to even that state could be seen in random places where the damage was not as bad. With much pain and effort, I wrenched myself up into a sitting position and clumsily got to my feet. I limped and stumbled into the new clearing, set in the midst of trees that were still standing as if nothing had happened at all. Some were singed, but for the most part, it seemed as if a wall had been brought up around the disaster area, preventing anything from getting at the rest of the forest.  
  
I continued to wobble forward, inspecting the wreckage. It was clear to me now that this was the source of the evil energy that had come at me earlier. It was all around, hanging in the air stagnantly. It hovered around me, and emanated from everything in great waves. I swallowed my fear and uncertainty and continued to look around.  
  
Once again, my feet faltered beneath me and I tripped into a bit of the ground that was more uneven then the rest of it. A trench of some sort. My hands came out before me to lessen the impact, and they hit the dirt painfully. My heart skipped a beat and then rang more loudly than ever before in my ears. I looked down hesitantly where my fingertips were shaking on the earth. The energy here was familiar...different from everything else. It was my own energy.  
  
I scrambled backwards out of the trench in a crab-walk and sat beside it breathing hard. My eyes were wide as I looked up and down the length of the dip frantically. It was not a natural trench, it was part of whatever had caused the damage here...which at this moment, seemed to be me. For the trench was an after effect of what my power could do. I had tested it like that many times during my training. It was a type of attack that was made for physical abuse, should I ever need it. It did not purify, it did not attack mentally, it was a vortex of ripping, rending, pure energy in the form of electricity.  
  
I trembled uncontrollably, I had not done this. I couldn't have, I hadn't been here, I had nothing to do with any of it! But then why, how had my unique energy been left in this spot? It couldn't be duplicated, it was part of me! How had this happened?!  
  
My head turned slowly about. I still wasn't afraid, but I was burning with confusion, I was looking for something, anything that might give me a lead.  
  
A dark object, beaten and blackened like everything else was lying on the ground a few yards away. Unable to make it to my feet this time because of the pain in my ankles, which were most certainly twisted, I crawled on my hands and knees towards the unknown something.  
  
It occurred to me to get Sesshomaru at that moment, call for him and scream until I could scream no longer, but I could not find my voice.  
  
Feet from it now, I reached out and carefully touched it before withdrawing my hand quickly like a frightened animal. Finding nothing dangerous that I could sense, I crawled forward again and closed the gap between myself and the foreign object. I bent over it, trying to see a bit. My fingers pawed it gently, it was...cloth? Or something like it...rough, burnt. My nose pinched some at a new smell, singed hair. I stopped suddenly when I felt something wet on my hand, raising it to my eyes, I discovered that my fingertips were bathed in a dark, thick, slippery substance.   
  
Lightening blazed again and I gasped as it was all illuminated before me.   
  
White hair falling over in a tumbled mess, liquid yellow eyes closed to the world forever. Body torn and ripped with numerous wounds, some still gushing and others closed over with the lull of the blood flow. He was caught in partial transformation to his true form, sharp dog ears pointed forward atop his head, and fangs that were larger beginning to show from beneath his upper lip.  
  
The fear that had been mysteriously absent for so long suddenly found me. I was unable to move, and my voice was now totally lost beyond recall.  
  
"You...are no goddess." A voice hissed dangerously, I recognized it instantly and my head sprang to the side. At that second, the rain that had been threatening overhead throughout the day came down.  
  
He stood there like a force straight out of hell, eyes burning red rather than gold, waves of crackling energy held just in check as they fanned off of him. I still could not speak.  
  
"You...Lied to me!" He roared.  
  
My throat rasped and I called out, "Sesshomaru! Your father-"  
  
"DO NOT SPEAK!"  
  
I fell silent again.  
  
"Get away from him..."  
  
I wouldn't move, I took a deep breathe and gathered my courage. "S-Sesshomaru...I had nothing to do with this..."  
  
"I said get away!"  
  
I remained rooted to the spot. "Please...Listen to me..."  
  
"SILENCE!"  
  
The rain pelted harder.  
  
"Sesshomaru listen! I don't know what happened here...your father...everything, I don't know!"  
  
He began fiercely stalking towards me and the lifeless body of Inutaisho. I felt terrible, to see the fallen demon, and to know that at this moment I was not comforting Sesshomaru or weeping, I was trying to prove my own innocence. But he had to know...  
  
"I will not say it again Tenshik, get away from my father."  
  
I edged away and he took my place, kneeling beside him and touching his hand gently. I watched silently from just behind him.  
  
His eyes cooled a bit and he shut them, bowing his head. Just as I was about to move in to wrap my arms around him, his head snapped to me, red orbs burning into my soul again. He snarled, teeth barred. "YOU SHALL NOT BE FORGIVEN!"  
  
"Sesshomaru!" I cried. "Don't do this! I didn't kill your father!"  
  
"LIAR!" His hand shot out, claws poised to rip me apart. I was still and strong, head set firmly with my eyes, which had their own effect. The daggers stopped just inches from my nose, shaking with anger and fear and shame.  
  
Slowly, he lowered his hand and slumped forward. "You expect me to believe...that when your energy and your scent reeks about this place, and I come upon you hovering over the slain body of my father, hands dripping with his blood...that you did not do this?!"  
  
"I know it is hard to understand...But Sesshomaru...I did not kill him." I said as calmly as possible.  
  
He looked ready to attack me again, and I'm sure he would have, but for a moment of doubt. Slowly he stood up, carefully easing his father into his arms. I watched from the ground. He turned away and then began to walk towards the castle. Just as he reached the edge of the smouldering clearing, he spoke menacingly.  
  
"Leave this place Tenshik...and never return. Though I cannot kill you, I refuse to ever look at you again. You betrayed my love and my trust." With that, he continued walking, and disappeared into the darkness.  
  
I snapped back to reality and began fighting to regain my footing. "Sesshomaru wait!" I called, tripping and fumbling as I ran-limped to where I had seen him walk into the trees. But I was too late. He was gone.  
  
I sank to my knees despairingly, letting the rain soak into my clothes. I lowered my head and let the tears fall...My heart had been shattered.  
  
***  
  
You know, I hate to cut the chapter off like that. It was getting darn good too. But I don't think I'm even allowed to make it any longer. And so with that, I bid you farewell little noodles! Don't worry, a weekend is coming, I'll be able to get another chapter out soon I think. 


	14. Don't Dare

Sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry...Ahhhh...did I mention I'm sorry? Cause I am. SORRY! It's very hard to update, I mean, school and the swim team and well um...IT'S JUST REALLY HARD OKAY?! So...are people getting Tenshik yet? I mean, she's perfect and you just want to smash her head in but...She's not that bad, is she? Oh what am I saying...Of course she's awful. I want to murder her as much as the rest of you, but she's a main character and she's also ALREADY dead. I guess we're all screwed. Deal with it. And I started two other stories so that's slowing stuff down so...yeah...sorry. But I'm really proud of one of those stories! So let me enjoy my happiness...dammit.  
  
Disclaimer: Not in a good mood. Don't bother me, look at some chapter at the beginning.  
  
***  
  
Reflection  
  
Chapter 14-Don't Dare  
  
***  
  
Everything was spinning wildly, the next moments were scattering and insane; incoherent. Kagome was struggling just to breath while her body was twisted and abused with different feelings. She had never imagined grief could hurt like this. "Sesshomaru! No! Don't leave!" She felt as if she was being consumed from the inside out, like she was drowning in something she couldn't touch or taste, but she could feel. It started in her heart, and swept through her limbs like a storm.  
  
The part of her mind that was still with itself, that could still make decent sense of things, immediately questioned the situation. She wasn't in any real place, what she had just seen couldn't be real. And at this particular moment, there was only darkness. Darkness all around. Infinite black, and there was nothing to hold on to. She would compare it to being suspended in mid air, or floating in space between the stars. Except there were no stars, or planets, or anything. Just black  
  
Worse, she was feeling this pain after seeing things...Things...what had she seen? She had seen Tenshik, no, she had been Tenshik, she was Tenshik. She had remembered the day that she had first been given a body of her own from the gods, and...the day that Sesshomaru had found her...and she remembered the confrontation with Sesshomaru's father...and...and then...the temple... More pain whipped her when she remembered the night she had found Inutaisho, broken and bloody on the ground, but that was nothing compared to the way Sesshomaru had so blatantly refused her and left her there, for all he cared, to die.  
  
If she could have, she would have cried. But she didn't know how when she was drifting in this dark void. Instead, she could only wrap herself in grief.  
  
Kagome realized then that what Tenshik had said was true. This was the only reality she had at the moment, and it was as good as any. Those pictures and scenes were her memories, those places and people and faces were all part of her own life. And these feelings were hers, nothing could change her mind of that. Tenshik was not lying. They were the same.  
  
And that meant that Sesshomaru really had left her there like that. But...no, no! She remembered now! It hadn't ended that way! He had returned to her!  
  
A strong fire was building in Kagome as she struggled to remember what had happened after that dark day, for Sesshomaru did come back! It was in her dream so long ago, she had seen it happen, he would return and hold her again in love!  
  
White replaced all the black in the void, and it was so powerful that it blinded her. When her vision was restored, she was looking upon another memory. Sesshomaru would come back in love, but it would be the last time she would see him again as living, breathing, Tenshik.  
  
***  
  
Demons, I see them everywhere. But never like this. They are black, twisted shapes of darkness. Each is walking death, I have never seen anything like this before, and it terrifies me. They have come.  
  
For days, I have been wandering through the forest, my heart is gone, and I feel that I cannot live much longer. I do not know what to do without Sesshomaru. He was my soul, and now that he has left me, I am fading away. He didn't trust me, I could see it in his eyes; he didn't trust me, the one who loves him more than any other on this earth. And now time is running out.  
  
It was all a lie. The body he buried wasn't his father's, it was never alive to begin with. I had a vision two nights after I found him lying on the bloodstained battlefield. I saw in my mind pictures of what was really before our eyes. Nothing. It was all an illusion. They had manipulated our senses and our feelings because it was an easy task while we were blinded by our love. We were so connected to each other it made us unknowing to everything else, so that the darkness could maneuver in the shadows and trick us into seeing something that wasn't even there.  
  
The Darkness...yes, my enemy. He is almost upon me now; I can feel the waves of his evil coming to sweep me away. He saw everything, he knew everything! From the very beginning! He had known that the gods would send me, and he had known that they were speaking to me with the temple, and he had known, most terrible of all, that I was in love with Sesshomaru. It was my weakness while it was my strength. I had always been dependent on Sesshomaru to help me and to always be with me. He was my pillar of support. I had gambled with that, I think I had known what I was doing when I fell in love with him. For when I fell in love, the emotion was stronger and far more powerful because of the power that was residing inside of me. Our love replaced that power, and so the darkness saw immediately that were he to remain, he would have to eliminate it.  
  
And he did. He fooled us... He fooled me into seeing something that wasn't there, he fooled Sesshomaru into betraying me.  
  
Now that my power is fading, he will erase me from this earth. I have failed, but I can at least fight once more in the end in return for what the Gods have given me, all the precious experiences that I've had while walking in a human form.  
  
I am waiting for him now, walking through the forest where I was born and waiting for him to come down upon me and end it. I know that he is just biding his time and teasing me and trying to bully me into fear with his demons that loom always, just outside of my vision.  
  
The God of Darkness will come and destroy me, Tenshik, and I will never know anything again.  
  
***  
  
Tenshik walked slowly. Each step was silent. Her hair was swaying unnaturally in the wind, while her clothes billowed out about her. Despair hung all about her, she was the picture of a defeated woman, yet when looking into her lifeless eyes there could still be seen a light not yet extinguished. She would use that light to do all that she could before she was inevitably destroyed.  
  
This was the final battle, and she knew it. She had been lost in her forest for days, having no direction or aim, but just waiting for the Darkness to come and smash what little life she had left. Sesshomaru had left her and abandoned their love. There was nothing for her to hold onto, and her power was nearly gone. The fight would be swift and shameful, but it had to be fought, for the honor of the Gods.  
  
She stopped still suddenly. It was night. No creature stirred, there was an evil in the air. The moon above was suddenly shrouded by dark clouds, sealing off what little light had been left to pierce through the dense leaves of the trees. Tenshik looked up at the sky and watched the stars wink out one by one. There was a black wave spreading through, coming silently and slowly to her.  
  
She whispered something low and quiet, and dropped down to sit elegantly upon her legs. The God of Darkness was coming as a visible enemy. Visible at least, to her. No one else would have been able to see what was coming. To all the mortals and demons, the stars and moon were still burning brightly, but every one of them that was near enough could sense the evil energy.  
  
Tenshik wondered for a moment where Sesshomaru might be then. Her lost love...Was he still grieving for his father who had not died? Of course he wouldn't know that he was still alive, not until it was too late. Or he might never discover that. For when the darkness came and took care of her, it would be free to rip the world apart as it had planned for so long.  
  
The earth shook beneath her suddenly and she took a deep, calming breath, and began to search inside of her for what remained of the power the Gods had blessed her with. She closed her eyes and slipped into deep meditation, searching, feeling for that strength. She found it, weak and small as it was, and held it inside of her. Her physical body would serve as a shield to protect it until the moment when she had to use it as a last resort. Until then, it was like a tiny, precious flame that she was trying desperately to keep from blowing out.  
  
There was a sound like metal groaning, but she dared not open her eyes and face the scene before her. If she did, she would abandon her little strength for fear, and then she would be easy prey. While she kept her defenses strong, her little light grew as a reaction to the desperation she was feeling. It was also preparing her for when she did open her eyes and look upon the God of Darkness in the phantom form he had used to come at her. Of course it would not compare to his true form, whatever that was; this was merely a shadow-tool to rid himself of what was pathetically, his strongest enemy.  
  
Her fists clenched and unclenched, she took hurried panting breathes. Her soul and small power was telling her that now was the time, she had to open her eyes and fight. She had found her light, so that she could protect it, now she had to do what she had to do.  
  
Her eyes opened and she narrowed them dangerously and got to her feet. She was doing her best to keep her fear low.  
  
There was a great shadow all around her. The forms of the trees were just distinguishable in the black mass. There were flickers of black lightening spreading like a pulse all throughout it. Its surface looked and moved like water, and it made horrible groaning noises that echoed strangely. This black light-energy was everywhere, forming a type of column that surrounded her and stretched up to the heavens where it closed in and sealed her totally. She was left in a tiny island, a space of still untouched land where she could draw herself up and make herself ready for the fight.  
  
Her heart raced. "Fight me now!" She called. "Fight me now and be done with it!"  
  
The only answer she received was the ever-present hiss of the evil force around her. So she stared, growing more afraid by the second, and knowing that it could sense her fear. But then her memories of Sesshomaru and the things that had been done to them and her anger surfaced. She would give this darkness no satisfaction by showing her fear. Tenshik growled and stamped her foot; a light pounded forth where it had struck the ground and the earth shook. A crevice ripped from the spot where the light had beamed and rushed out into the inky blackness, burning it away as it went. But it simply stitched itself back together, and as her eyes followed the white crevice as it grew, she saw it suddenly snuffed out like a candle.  
  
She closed her eyes in dismay only for an instant when she heard everything stop. Tenshik gasped and looked again. Why was it suddenly so silent? The moaning cries had ceased, and as she saw that the black lights had disappeared. Then she realized it; it was going to strike.  
  
She had a second to decide what to do before the ceiling of the force field around her came crashing down towards her body, and she quickly crashed to her knees and muttered an incantation that would hopefully serve to protect her. Tenshik heard it rumbling to her from above, and then as it hit her spell, there was a scream, or so she imagined it to be, followed by a sound like rushing water moving away from her.  
  
All around her the darkness seemed to be fighting itself desperately to get away from her where she stood in the forest, sparks were chasing it at its edges. As it withdrew, the forms of the trees seemed to shrivel and decay until they were charred black. She winced as when she saw them, not the beautiful trees she had known at her birth, they were sickly and dying.  
  
Abruptly, the blackness stopped roughly fifty yards from her, forming a great circle. Yet somehow, it seemed even more opposing to her at a distance than it did when it was just inches from her face.  
  
"Finish me," she growled.  
  
There was a rumble like an earthquake and Tenshik shut her eyes again. Still kneeling on the ground, she began speaking in a strange tongue, summoning the words that would unlock her power.  
  
She heard it coming, it was racing toward her, coming too fast...she wouldn't be able to finish... She would have to sacrifice some of her strength to keep it away for enough time, or else it would destroy her before she had a chance to do anything. Her fist hit the ground, sending another crevice of light rocketing towards her enemy, she heard it shriek in pain and anger, burn away, then begin it's charge again. She went back to the spell.  
  
This time she had nothing left, she had to finish her chant, if she gave anything more she wouldn't be able to summon her full strength. It was coming...coming...coming...  
  
The sound of it grew closer. She spoke faster. Closer. Her concentration reached its peak. Closer, it was feet away.  
  
No time.  
  
It hit Tenshik and the barrier of protection she had created lasted seconds before it succumbed and broke away, then she was left out in the open and it poured onto her form. Her body went straight and rigid and her head snapped back. She screamed while it bore down upon her, it was as if she were being crushed by hundreds of pounds of water at one time. But after it had enveloped her, she knew pain far worse than being crushed, as it began gnawing at her flesh, seeping into her blood, filling her with the darkness... Tears ran down her cheeks as she gasped out of pain and for air that had long since been swallowed by the blackness. As she felt herself slipping away, she managed to cry out, "Sesshomaru!"  
  
Then the darkness continued to eat away at her soul, and then it crept across her vision.  
  
***  
  
She could hear her heart pounding, her human heart. It felt like she was drifting away, and then it was gone. She had a haunting feeling that something wasn't done yet. What was that? What had she forgotten?  
  
She wanted so badly to sleep, or to rest, but a thought continued to nag at her that there was still something left unfinished...something that was calling to her. Then it appeared, a light, or as it grew closer to her, a flame. It was dancing just before her eyes, and she watched it burn, small, but bright. It could be brighter, she thought. Though she knew it would burn, she reached out to it, and touched it, bathed her fingers in it, and she found that it wasn't painful, it was cool and soothing. She put her whole hand in, and then the other as well and let it caress her skin. The coolness seemed to spread through her, and she smiled. Suddenly she didn't want to sleep or rest.  
  
And then she heard something, far off, distant. A thumping, beating noise. It grew louder. It was like the pounding of a drum. Again, and again. It kept a steady pace. To her, it sounded familiar, and she tried to place it.  
  
Then a word came to mind, and she gasped. "Heart!" She cried, "It's my heart!"  
  
It all came back to her, the fight, the darkness, the pain.  
  
"Sesshomaru!" Tenshik grew frantic. "Sesshomaru!"  
  
The light that she was still immersing her hands in shined brightly, all different colors. Hues of purple, silver, green, yellow, white, and black. Her eyes focused on it. A voice whispered from it; it sounded like she was hearing it through a wall. Meanwhile, her heart beat grew rapid and fierce.  
  
The voice too, grew. "Tenshik!"  
  
She smiled ecstatically, "Sesshomaru!"  
  
The light at her hands exploded radiantly and swamped all of her surroundings, she felt air in her lungs again, and her vision was restored. Tenshik was still suspended in the darkness, but she could see that it was more transparent now, and standing just beyond it, more beautiful than the stars, sword in hand, was Sesshomaru.  
  
She stared at him, wordless with awe, but at the same time, she had known somehow that he would come. Sesshomaru always rescued her. But as quickly as her joy came, it was replaced by fear and panic. He would be killed! There was no way he could face the evil she was battling! It was stronger than the both of them!  
  
All around Tenshik she could see that the shadows were recoiling from whatever attack Sesshomaru had made to free her of her temporary bonds. It was moving slowly as it seemed to study him and his strength. Already she could feel that it knew Sesshomaru wouldn't be any more of an opponent than she would be.  
  
"Sesshomaru!" Tenshik cried in a hoarse voice, aching with pain. "Go, quickly...you will die!"  
  
He turned to her slowly where she stood. It was obvious that he was hurting. Somehow he must have found out that his father remained in the living world. But that could not be bothered with, there was no time.  
  
"Sesshomaru! Leave!"  
  
He strode to her and knelt by her side, lifting her into his arms and holding her against him. "I'm not leaving you now."  
  
Her tears were flowing again. "Please..."  
  
But she could say no more, her enemy was preparing to attack again, and already the sound of it rumbling towards them where they stood on the ground was growing wild in their ears. Tenshik gasped and limply clutched Sesshomaru's shirt in her fist with a wince of pain. She opened her mouth to warn him for the last time to go and let her fight her inescapable battle, but he interrupted her first.  
  
"This is the enemy that you were put on this earth to fight. But you will not fight it alone." His stare moved to her eyes, and she swallowed under his gaze. "What must I do?"  
  
"You can't-"  
  
"Tenshik," He leaned closer, "What must I do?"  
  
Swallowing again, she bowed her head, and thought deeply. Even if she had wanted him with her, in danger, on the battlefield, there was little that he could accomplish. They had been trained to destroy different forces. This was nothing he was familiar with. But... "There is..."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"I need time to finish my spell." Sesshomaru didn't ask what her spell was, simply waited for her to continue. She went on warily while the noise like rushing waters steadily became deafening. It was hard to overcome it with her meek voice. "You have to fight for me, I will give you all the strength that I can spare, but what I give you will make me weak, I will not be able to protect myself, you have to keep it away long enough for me to finish."  
  
He nodded. "I understand."  
  
Smiling at him, she bowed her head into his chest and whispered an apology that was too soft for him to hear. But she meant it all the same. Poor Sesshomaru...here he had been dragged into this.  
  
"Tenshik," his voice woke her from her from her tangled thoughts. "We don't have...time."  
  
He was right, she lifted herself and looked into his eyes. Understanding the need to be still, he went rigid while they both fell into a sitting position. "Close your eyes." He obeyed silently. Her fingers touched his forehead, his left shoulder, his right, and hovered above his heart before she hesitantly touched it too. As soon as she had made contact with his chest Tenshik felt a great weight fall down onto her shoulders, and she sagged forward a bit. Her breathing was rough and labored. Sesshomaru's eyes opened and he held her upper arm in a grip firmer than usual. "Go, do your task." She whispered.  
  
Reluctantly he released her and rose gracefully to his feet.  
  
"Quickly now, it's coming." Sure enough, it was brimming over the trees, sweeping past the black forest. He turned and left at her command, and she watched him go and then carefully eased into her previous kneeling position. Before she slipped into the deepest trance she had ever accomplished, she dimly heard him transform into his true form.  
  
***  
  
Her hands burned. Everything burned. It hurt, but at the same time it was very soothing... Months and months had been spent preparing for this moment, to finally succeed...it was something of a comfort. She kept Sesshomaru in her mind through the whole experience, after all, she had admitted it, he was her pillar of strength. Why not exploit his presence while he was with her again? Tenshik reconsidered it for a moment, and decided that she should be glad at least, that she would never have to worry about being parted from him ever again. In mere moments, their spirits would travel together to the afterlife, whatever was waiting for them after everything they knew now was destroyed, they would experience it together. The small, melancholy hope that this was true lifted her spirits slightly, and she focused her attention again on bringing out her true power.  
  
She was very close now...her lips moved without her conscious will, saying things she couldn't recall or hear with her ears. Tenshik grew strangely aware of Sesshomaru, even though her sight had faded some time ago, and her ears were useless in the state that she was now. But she could still sense him close to her, and she could also sense that his strength was failing, he wouldn't be able to hold back the enemy much longer, he needed her to finish.  
  
'I'm trying...' She thought, and wished that he might hear it somehow. But her lips were occupied.  
  
Tenshik's light grew brighter as Sesshomaru's faded. In his full demon form, he raged back and forth and around Tenshik, or what he hoped was still Tenshik. He never looked back at her, only at the surrounding darkness. He plowed through and across it without mercy, ripping through it with everything he had. At first it had been startlingly simple, and delivered a type of exhilarating rush, but now all of the blessings that Tenshik had bestowed upon him were diminishing. He felt his life force dwindling.  
  
Tenshik grew more anxious. She was so close...but it seemed that time was running out. Sesshomaru was nearly... The flame in her heart crackled and burst at the thought. Gradually, everything started to fall into place. The energies around her, earth, fire, water, air, became synchronized and started working together and around her. She waited and prayed and drew them to her. When they were in perfect harmony she would be able to release all of her strength.  
  
And they flew about her, they morphed, they were becoming unified... So close...  
  
A cry suddenly ricocheted about her mind powerfully. Tenshik knew that voice; Sesshomaru. He was dying. That knowledge drove itself into her heart with startling force, and her head shot up where she sat. She answered his call with her own voice, "Sesshomaru!"  
  
At that moment everything was right. Her power bolted from her body and into the living world with a sound like a thunder clap. The sky opened above her head and sunlight or lightening or both rushed down to her body. Her conditioned flesh, trained for this moment, remembered to exercise control so as not to rip the world apart. Something burning cold rippled through her and she remembered nothing more.  
  
***  
  
Kagome's mind reeled. A confusing wave of memories and visions and possibilities and facts still threatened to overwhelm her. She had just relived something terrible from her past...no, that couldn't have been her memories...It just couldn't have...  
  
She groaned and realized that she could actually hear it. It was startling, it felt like forever since she had used her body. She moved her fingertips experimentally, and breathed deeply. Maybe it had been a dream.  
  
A soft, but icy voice, disturbed that thought. "Open your eyes Kagome."  
  
Silently she obeyed, and her eyes fluttered open. With her vision restored, she saw that there was a gray, bleak sky stretching out above her. Dim sunlight was filtering through the clouds. She raised herself onto her elbows and looked around her, she was in a grassy clearing in a forest. She knew the forest, it was the one she had lived and died in. Kagome almost laughed when she caught her thought. Apparently Tenshik's claims about their being the same person were becoming easier to believe.  
  
Her eyes moved again around her and this time she saw the source of her amusement staring at her cooly. She looked like a ghost, a tragic heroine. Her hair was lifted around her by the chilling breeze that was blowing across the clearing, and her clothes were also carried.  
  
"What happened after that then?" Kagome was asking about what had happened after she-Tenshik had allowed all of her power to be released.  
  
Her response was cold and ominous. "You know the answer."  
  
Kagome nodded. She was right, somehow...she did know all that had happened after that. "Yes I do, but please, I want to hear it from you."  
  
"I see. To prove it to yourself."  
  
"Yes."  
  
They were both silent for a moment. "I was unprepared, my training was not complete, and my soul was still wounded by Sesshomaru's temporary distrust..."  
  
"How did he know it wasn't his father, by the way?" Kagome slowly dragged herself up and wrapped her arms around her knees. She was watching the trees sway in the wind.  
  
"I don't know. I never asked him."  
  
Tenshik had a point, when Sesshomaru reappeared at her side there was no time to do anything that didn't concern the situation at hand.  
  
Sensing that the subject was no longer important to Kagome, Tenshik continued. "You of course remember your dream, your first one..."  
  
"That was when you died?"  
  
Tenshik hesitated for a moment, "Yes. That was when I died. Because Sesshomaru was with me in the end, and he was such a part of me, I was able to release such a force that it was somehow enough to fight the God of Darkness. I drove him back enough to buy some time. He lost a great deal of his own strength when he battled with my power. In the end he was drained...and wiser because of it."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"He understood that at that time he was not strong enough to both destroy me and the world. As of this moment he is gathering his strength...in your time, he is almost ready to unleash everything he has, and there will be nothing then that can stop him."  
  
Kagome gasped. "What...that can't be true!" She remembered her mother, brother, grandfather... "They aren't..."  
  
"No, nothing has happened yet. But it will soon."  
  
"Then we have to stop it!" She scrambled to her feet and faced Tenshik desperately.  
  
"You can't."  
  
"What?!" Kagome was shouting now, the only sound besides the wind in the forest.  
  
"Not in that time. I told you, there is nothing that can stop it then. You have to do it now, while he is still gathering his energy." Her voice never changed from its solemn tone.  
  
Kagome cleared her throat. "I have to...?"  
  
"Yes. You must."  
  
"But I don't have the power that you did! I don't have..."  
  
Tenshik's gaze darkened as she finished her statement, "Sesshomaru."  
  
Kagome swallowed and nodded. The thought had only just occured to her; if she and Tenshik were truly the same person, had the same past, then naturally Kagome would be in love with Sesshomaru. She waited for Tenshik to say more, but she was silent, hinting, prompting her to believe something that she couldn't even think of.  
  
She avoided the subject in a whisper. "You still didn't tell me what happened."  
  
Though Tenshik's eyes were still questing for some sort of statement from Kagome, she consented after a few tense seconds and spoke, "After my death, my soul temporarily became a natural spirit again, I remembered my task and saw that there was still a chance to accomplish it while my enemy was temporarily disabled. My power was small, but it was just enough to grant me another chance. I couldn't reach the Gods in my condition, they could not help me, but somehow I was able to begin to create a new body, a new place to rest and rebuild myself...I would be born again, as you Kagome." Kagome bit her lip and shuddered slightly.   
  
"But there were complications...I was too weak to do everything by myself, I had to seek help from a mother, my new body had to be conceived naturally in a womb because I was just too powerless to be anything like what I had once been. I had to start from the very beginning. The process was very difficult, I could not find the right spirit to help me...But then I saw that the Shikon jewel would reappear in time again, a great source of strength. Unfortunately, it would resurface very close to when my enemy would strike again, and for the final time..."  
  
"But there was no other who could have harbored my spirit. And I needed the Shikon jewel to help me. It had enough power to suppress my own so that it would not destroy whoever held my soul in their body, and it would nurture it at the same time so that I too would be able to gather my strength again as the God of Darkness was doing."   
  
"When I was born, when you were born, the Shikon jewel continued to protect my strength. But it was strange... Although I was working with it to become stronger, it was battling me at the same time. The Shikon jewel is wild and extremely powerful, and while I was trying to exist with it it raged so much that it nearly split me in two, and I was somehow living two lives... You went through life as yourself, unknowing that you were also me, and I saw everything through your eyes, I was almost another person, conscious of everything but unable to do anything because your spirit was stronger at the time."  
  
"I still remembered my mission, and I was conveniently close to the well, a place where the pattern of time was significantly altered. When I was strong enough I used the both the will of the Shikon jewel and my own power to reawaken the time gate, and willingly allowed the jewel to be taken from me when I arrived in the past."  
  
"But your spirit still remained stronger for a long time. Inuyasha's connection with the jewel was very fortunate because it was through him that I discovered the fact that Sesshomaru still lived. After meeting him I found new hope for my purpose... Until that point I had thought that I would never see Sesshomaru again, and that I would have to fight my battle alone. After a brief time of preparation I began to make you see that we were one. I used significant things from my past like the song I had always sang to Sesshomaru to make you slowly remember. And I also made him remember with visions he shared with you, because I knew that I would need him to make it possible for you to understand what was happening. And also, he would be needed in the end...as a pure soul, not one still touched by evil and grief."  
  
"I began to press you towards the temple, where I knew I would be able use the power of the Gods to finally contact you this way, and make you see..." Her sentence trailed away, leaving Kagome wavering.  
  
She had known everything that Tenshik had told her already, but she had needed Tenshik to say it, to make it true.  
  
"Now Kagome, I have something that I want you to prove for me in return."  
  
She waited patiently for the question, though again, she already knew it.  
  
"Do you believe this?"  
  
There was still a chance that it was all a dream, everything. That her preordained role wasn't so enormous... No, no it was true. It was true, there was no other way, and she knew it. She was never Kikyo, everything that she had thought was reality was actually the will of the Shikon jewel. It had used its connection with the priestess to make it all seem true... And Kikyo as she was now, was not really Kikyo. Her new body had been given a breath of life from a source of power that could give it to her, and did by manipulation from Urasue... And it was also true that her ghostly form of clay and grave soil was haunted by the deepest, darkest feelings of Kagome's own soul, but everyone saw that Kikyo was somehow different than the person she had once been, and it wasn't because she was driven by anger and grief, it was because her soul was not her own.  
  
Kagome drew her hands into fists. "Yes. I do."  
  
  
  
Tenshik smiled and the gray clouds yielded a soft, shining, life-giving rain. "Then be one with yourself."  
  
Kagome nodded and returned her smile. She bowed her head and closed her eyes, and let all her doubts slip away. Tenshik was standing in her mind's eye, and all around her a light was shining. And then she felt that same light surround her body...When she opened her eyes again it had clouded her vision...there was a warm strength in her blood, and relief was pouring over her. When the light parted, she felt arms around her, and knew immediately who it was that was holding her so dearly.  
  
And then dark fears crowded her mind again, all of her past experiences with him, all that they had shared together, and what was only natural...  
  
"Sesshomaru? I'm so sorry...She died with such cruelty, you have been through so much pain, I'm so sorry... But can you, maybe, let go of me now?"  
  
She felt him hesitate, and draw back, startled. At once his eyes roved over her, and saw that her hair had been restored to its original color, and that her eyes were dark and youthful again, and he released her gently.  
  
Kagome sighed. To Sesshomaru, it had only been a matter of seconds, to her, it was like coming back after years...a lifetime... Sitting up, she prepared herself for what she knew she would have to say.  
  
Sesshomaru still seemed evidently shocked, so she reached out to him and touched his shoulder. "Listen to me very carefully, please believe me...I know it's hard to understand but..." She sighed again, "I am Tenshik."  
  
***  
  
Wow, confusion. Wow. But now we're actually getting somewhere! Yah! But you know, I think we're all starting to drown in fluff. Ick. Maybe we should whack off a character...And don't suggest Tenshik, any of you. Feh...I wish. But really, no, it's not possible. Bye for now, don't be afraid to e-mail if you prefer that to reviewing. And I'm always on AOL as Snarfburgalar if you feel like confronting me more personally about my horrendous updating habits...SORRY. 


	15. Hi

Listen...this is hard business, but I have to delete all my stories. Not because anyone reported me, not because I hate them, I just have to. For a brief amount of time. Okay? I'm making a new screen name, I'm forming a new account. I'm reworking a few things.

Someday I'll tell you all why, but for now just please trust me. Expect things to be shut-down indefinitely for about a week or so, and then I'll put everything back up again. Perform searches for it, if you still are interesting in reading.

Thank you all so much.

-Me.


	16. Chapter 16

Okay. So I didn't have to terminate my account. But something obviously _did _happen, right? AND IT WAS BAD. Hence the initial delay.

I moved out of my house four years ahead of schedule, with five months' notice. I made the decision myself, that was good, but it didn't excuse me from how much of a shock it was. And then when I got over that, I realized that it was hard work. And then when I got over that, I made friends with beautiful people and devoted free time to being a hot-blooded teenager with them. It was fun and I have no regrets. Thus, no, I _did not _die.

Naturally after exams, several of which kicked my ass, I wanted to simmer and sulk. I've been doing that for the past few weeks. Seeing as I now have free time that can't be used to roam around with my friends because they live far away from me, I promise (_promise_) I'll start working on my stories again. But I have a sibling about to leave for Europe for six weeks straight on a painting expedition for college, so if you all don't mind I think I'll bid her farewell first.

And I might have updated once or twice if I didn't know that the security at my school had the power to hack into my system and read whatever went down from personal experience.

My plan is to finish these off one by one. However, if I don't accomplish this before September...well, the cycle starts again. The end.


End file.
